Truce
by TitansRule
Summary: Sequel to Transition. Elena, Stefan, Damon and Katherine return home to learn that all is not as peaceful as they thought. When a new hunter comes in to town, the supernatural residents of Mystic Falls and their allies will have to pull together to survive. Full details of pairings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is the sequel to Transition, so you might want to read that first. Although this story will feature a close friendship between Elena and Damon, the romantic pairings are firmly Stefan/Elena and Damon/Katherine. Other pairings will include Tyler/Caroline, Bonnie/Jeremy, possible Matt/Rebekah and one-sided (or is it?) Klaus/Caroline.**

* * *

Elena Gilbert had not been expecting to become a vampire. It had crossed her mind, of course – any time she thought about being with Stefan for a long time, she knew that one day turning would be an option she'd have to consider – but it had been a decision she didn't think she needed to make for a long time.

Then a blow to the head and a car accident had taken that decision away from her, and she was left drowning in a sea of blood, desperately trying to keep her head above the surface.

But ever since the supernatural entered her life, Elena had never been alone, and it wasn't any different now.

Damon and Katherine had helped her tread water and taught her to swim, and now Stefan was there, helping them pull her back to shore.

Right now, they were driving back to Mystic Falls, Damon and Katherine in the Camaro, Stefan and Elena in the Porsche, and Elena was watching the scenery fly by, her foot tapping against the car floor.

Stefan's hand on her knee caught her attention, and she glanced across at him, a smile spreading across her face. She placed her hand over his, lacing their fingers together.

"What are you thinking?" Stefan asked, one eye on the road.

"Nothing much." Elena admitted. "I'm just … worried, I guess. The only time I was around people this week was when they were teaching me to hunt … What if I hurt someone?"

"Sweetie, if you can be around blood without reacting, you can be around people." Stefan assured her. "You'll be more aware of their humanity, yes, but it shouldn't be a problem. And we won't let it be a problem." He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it softly.

"What about you?" Elena asked. "Something tells me Katherine's going to be sticking around for a while. Will you be okay with that?"

Stefan grimaced. "Honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. I don't trust her, Elena – I know you do …"

"It's not that simple." Elena said softly. "It's not a case of trusting Katherine – I just have a gut feeling that she can be trusted in this case. Maybe it's the doppelganger thing, I don't know."

"I don't think you've ever fully explained 'the doppelganger thing'." Stefan remarked.

"That's because I never wanted to freak you out." Elena responded. "We have a … connection, I suppose you could say. I can usually tell when she's lying, but it's not a certainty, more of a gut feeling. A very vague gut feeling," she added, "before you ask why I didn't use it earlier."

"I wasn't going to ask that." Stefan said.

"You were thinking it though." Elena said, smiling slightly. "Sounds to me like you do know how you feel about it."

"No, I got off-topic." Stefan said, releasing her hand to run his through his hair in frustration. "I don't know, Elena. On the one hand, I don't entirely trust her – although I do trust you, so I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt – but I don't feel comfortable around her. I know I had 145 years to get over it so to speak, but I probably feel about as comfortable as Caroline used to around Damon." He paused. "Although what Katherine did to me was nowhere near as bad."

"It was." Elena insisted. "Maybe she was a little gentler about it, maybe she didn't _intend_ to hurt you, but she treated you terribly, Stefan, and it's okay not to feel comfortable around her."

"But Caroline …" Stefan began.

"Caroline had to see Damon immediately after she remembered." Elena continued, accurately guessing his new protest. "She had to see him and interact with him, and, God, I was a terrible friend, wasn't I?"

"I think we both were." Stefan said soothingly, taking her hand again. "Neither of us thought about how difficult it must have been for Caroline, being around Damon all the time. When did she … Has she forgiven him?"

"I think so." Elena said slowly. "I doubt she'll ever forgive _what_ he did, but I think she's forgiven him. When he was … dying," she hesitated, the word sticking in her throat, "even after Katherine brought the cure, it took a week before he was himself again. The hallucinations stopped, but he was a little more … forthcoming, I suppose you could say, than he would normally be. He admitted to Caroline that he let her get the upper hand when she attacked him after she first turned, because he regretted how he treated her but was too proud to apologise."

"_Damon_ said that?" Stefan asked, surprised.

Elena smiled slightly. "He said a lot of things he would never normally have said. He confessed his undying love for me at least five times."

Stefan frowned slightly, out of confusion more than anything else. "I don't understand how that's changed. How did he go from being in love with you to … not, so quickly?"

"He was never in love with me." Elena said. "He just thought he was."

"So how did he change his mind?" Stefan asked. "Or don't you know?"

Elena sighed. She had never told Stefan about the two kisses she and Damon had shared that night, and she knew she had to. "Pull over. We're not having this conversation while you're driving."

As they pulled over to the side of the road, the Camaro slowed down beside them. Elena waved for them to carry on, which they did, overtaking the Porsche and disappearing round the bend.

Sighing heavily, Elena twisted in her seat to face Stefan, guilt filling her eyes and lining her face. "The night Damon compelled Jeremy to leave town, the night Damon told me _why_ you saved Klaus … he kissed me."

"He kissed you." Stefan repeated.

"I never mentioned it because …" Elena let out a sigh. "Well, it didn't _mean_ anything. All it did was confirm that I didn't have those sorts of feelings for him and let him know that he wasn't in love with me. I told him to come inside so we could talk, and I told him that I loved him, just not romantically, and that I didn't want to be Katherine …"

Stefan cupped her face, his eyes shining with love. "You could never be Katherine, sweetheart. Not to me."

"Or Damon." Elena added, smiling slightly. "He said that something about the kiss was bothering him, and would it be alright if he kissed me again. I …" She hesitated for another second, before blurting out. "I agreed. I just knew _why _it was bothering him; I knew he wasn't in love with me, and I needed him to realise that. I'm so sor …"

"Elena." Stefan interrupted. "It's okay. We weren't together, sweetheart; you don't need to apologise."

Elena dropped her gaze. "I feel like I should though."

Gently, Stefan tapped her chin to encourage her to meet his eyes again. "Was it a kiss like this?" He asked, pressing his lips to hers chastely for a few seconds.

"Yes." Elena whispered. "Except yours makes me _feel_ something."

Stefan's lips quirked into a smirk, giving her a split-second of warning as to his intention. "So it was nothing like this then?" He kissed her again, but there was nothing chaste about this one.

It was both a fight for dominance and an intricately choreographed dance, soothing Elena and riling her up at the same time, and she moaned his name into his mouth, moaning again – in disappointment this time – when he pulled away.

"Nothing like that?" He asked.

"Nothing like that." Elena agreed breathlessly.

"See?" Stefan asked. "You have _nothing_ to be sorry about, Elena, although I know how bad your guilt-trips can be sometimes."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "_My _guilt-trips?"

"I didn't say mine weren't just as bad." Stefan said, unabashed. "It's just that at the moment, we're talking about yours. I'm _not_ mad at you, Elena; you did nothing wrong. But I forgive you."

Elena closed her eyes, letting out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. Deep down, she knew that Stefan was right – she had nothing to feel guilty about – but she had just needed to hear him say the words.

"Thank you."

* * *

"What do you reckon all that was about?" Katherine asked, glancing in the rear-view mirror.

Damon shrugged unconcernedly. "God knows. They haven't had much time together recently, I'm surprised they even got out of bed this morning."

Katherine scrunched up her nose. "There's an image I didn't want."

Damon gave her a look that could only be described as affectionate. "You're cute when you do that?"

"Did you really just use the word 'cute' to describe me, of all people?" Katherine asked, disbelieving. "Actually, scratch that – did you just use the word 'cute'?"

"What would you rather me use?" Damon asked. "Hot? Sexy? Drop-dead gorgeous?"

"Careful, Damon, you'll make me blush." Katherine said, almost demurely, but with a wicked glint in her eye.

Damon snorted. "Not sure that's possible, babe." He pulled up outside the boarding house, and leaned across, kissing her retort away. "C'mon." Snagging the bags from the backseat, he got out of the car, and she followed a second later.

"You know, I can carry my own bag." She said.

"My mother raised a gentleman." Damon responded loftily.

"Did she now?" Katherine asked. "You'll have to introduce us."

Both bags fell to the floor, and she laughed as he grabbed her waist, pushing her up against the door.

It swung open behind her, and she was forced to take a few hasty steps backwards to keep her balance.

The levity disappeared almost instantly, and they left the bags on the floor in favour of entering the house, knowing that Stefan would never have just left the door open.

They blurred through the ground floor, only to come to a halt in the living room to find Caroline in one of the armchairs, sleeping fitfully.

Katherine reached out to wake her, but Damon caught her arm, observing the sleeping blonde with uncharacteristic concern.

It was more than likely that Caroline had come to the boarding house seeking Stefan for whatever reason, but there were very few reasons that would make her stay and fall asleep if she couldn't find him. If she was going to do that, she would have left a note and taken possession of the spare room that had somehow been allocated to her over the last six months or so.

But it seemed, to Damon at least, that Caroline had not intended to fall asleep. She was curled up almost in a foetal position, her posture relaxed but in a way that suggested that she had been clinging to herself for comfort when she finally gave in to exhaustion.

Her running shoes were kicked haphazardly to one side, her face was unnaturally pale, her make-up streaked down her cheeks like a painting left out in the rain, and even asleep she was shaking.

"Caroline." Damon called firmly. "Time to wake up now."

Caroline awoke with a gasp, springing out of the chair with no sign of exhaustion. Damon couldn't help the slight twinge of pride when she settled automatically into a fighter's stance, relaxing only when she realised who was standing in front of her. "Thank God." She took a few steps towards Katherine, before stopping. "You're not Elena."

"Nope." Katherine agreed lazily. "I'm not."

"She's with Stefan." Damon added, drawing Caroline's attention away from Katherine.

"And where's Stefan?" Caroline asked.

"On his way." Damon answered. "They stopped for a chat. Or sex, one of the two."

Caroline seemed to contemplate this for a few seconds. "I'll have to improvise then." The wobble in her voice alerted Damon a split-second before she attached herself to him in a blonde blur, burying her face in his jacket.

Damon's hands grasped her shoulders to automatically remove her, but the trembling seemed to have increased, and he realised that she was crying, great, heaving sobs that shook her entire body. He glanced over at Katherine, who seemed torn between confusion at Caroline's actions and amusement at Damon's plight.

He wanted to make some comment about being better off without Lockwood (the guy was a loose cannon – Damon still wasn't convinced he'd actually broken the sire bond), but something about Caroline's tears suggested that Tyler Lockwood had little to do with her hysterics.

She seemed … scared.

So he resorted to his tried-and-tested strategy for dealing with Elena when she cried, developed over that long summer before they finally tracked down Stefan.

She still cried afterwards, but they were different tears, more exhaustion than heartbreak, because no matter how much Elena was hurting, she never lost hope.

One hand left her shoulder to stroke her back while the other brushed her hair from her face. Rather wisely, he said nothing, and Katherine followed his lead, wondering down to the basement to get a couple of blood bags.

In the meantime, Damon stayed where he was, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, and it was with no shortage of relief that he heard Stefan's car pull up outside five minutes later. He gave the two a few minutes, before speaking quietly. "In your own time, lovebirds. We seem to have a situation."

Instantly, the front door open and closed, and Stefan and Elena had appeared beside him, holding the two bags Damon had abandoned outside, which were cast aside again when they took in the scene. Damon gratefully turned Caroline into Stefan's arms, and accepted the other mug of blood from Katherine.

Stefan and Elena guided Caroline to sit down, talking to her softly until her tears subsided and the shaking stopped. When Caroline had finally calmed down, she pulled out of Stefan's hold in favour of embracing Elena.

"Does Jeremy know you're back?" She asked.

"Not yet." Elena answered. "Just got here – but that's hardly the point, Caroline."

"No, it isn't." Stefan agreed. "What happened?"

"It's Klaus." Caroline whispered. "He's not dead."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean 'he's not dead'?" Damon asked sharply, his arm curling protectively around Katherine's waist. "Fido bit it, right?"

Caroline flinched, as Stefan and Elena gave Damon a chiding look. "Not exactly. Klaus is kind of … I don't know, possessing him, I guess. Like he did with Alaric."

Katherine closed her eyes. "Is it too early for alcohol?"

Elena glanced at the clock, still automatically rubbing Caroline's back. "Normally, I'd say yes. Given the circumstances, I'll have whatever you're having."

Damon's grip on Katherine tightened as she moved to get up, and she glanced at him, almost flinching at the resignation in his eyes. He was obviously expecting her to run again, despite their newly reconciled relationship. She could hardly blame him, given her history with Klaus, but here and now was not the place to discuss it. "Drink?"

Damon glanced at her, his expression going blank as he smirked. "Why not?" He asked lightly, releasing her so she could get up.

Elena looked over, and the two doppelgangers exchanged a knowing glance. "So what happens now?" Elena asked, silently leaving Katherine to handle Damon. "Why would Klaus tell you that he was possessing Tyler?"

"Because he can't get out." Caroline explained. "He said a witch helped him – cast a spell so that if he was killed it was just his body that was destroyed, but she was too old and it killed her. And now he's stuck."

"Brilliant." Damon said darkly. "It might be Klaus's knowledge, but it's Tyler's body – we can take him."

Caroline's lower lip trembled, and Elena sighed. Damon's assessment was perfectly correct, of course, but she wouldn't have said it in front of Caroline.

"He's going to kill him." Caroline choked out.

Elena frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Klaus – he said that if we don't help him get his body back, he'll rip Tyler's heart out!" Caroline wailed.

Elena's eyes widened, and a strangled gasp escaped her. Katherine hastily pushed a glass of scotch into her hand, and she downed it two gulps.

"Let him." Damon said with a shrug.

"Damon!" Elena and Stefan responded in unison, Elena in admonishment, Damon in warning.

"Look, if he's threatening to kill one of his hybrids, he's got to be desperate." Damon continued. "And if he's not bluffing, good riddance."

"Except we still don't know if we're sired to him." Elena pointed out. "Is it worth the risk?"

Stefan sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but … I agree with Damon. If Klaus sired our bloodline, he'd be using that as a threat, but he's not. Tyler's life is the only hold he has over us, and … Well, what would Tyler say?"

Caroline sniffed, but set her shoulders. "He'd say that his life isn't worth it – that he'd want Klaus dead and me – us – safe."

It wasn't something she'd ever have thought of Tyler saying before all of this. Before the supernatural had entered their lives, she hadn't liked Tyler – he was family, but they weren't friends. Becoming a werewolf and then a hybrid had cured him of some of his less desirable traits, brought back the kid they had grown up with rather than the young man he had become when they entered high school, the boy who, aged eight, had stepped between her and an older boy who was threatening to hit her. (Tyler had escaped being hit as well, by pointing out that he was the mayor's son and that Caroline was the Sheriff's daughter – Caroline hadn't seen anyone run that fast since without supernatural aid).

Elena swallowed hard. "She's right. That is what he'd say."

"Well, that might be true." Katherine conceded, swirling her bourbon in her glass contemplatively. "And I can't believe I'm even _thinking_ this, let alone saying it, but … I think we don't have a choice, other than to help him."

"How's that?" Damon asked.

"Well, he obviously wasn't expecting this witch to drop dead, but if Bonnie can help, so can any other witch." Katherine pointed out. "You're right – he'd be threatening us with the bloodline curse if he could, but he's not. My guess is that killing Lockwood won't kill him – he'll just jump into another body and find another witch. And if he does that, make no mistake: he will descend upon us like the eleventh plague."

There was a very uneasy silence as the other three looked at each other. "She's right too." Elena said finally. "What do we do?"

"I think we need to tell Carol and Liz what's going on." Stefan said quietly. "And Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie. Especially Carol and Bonnie, since we're talking about Carol's son and Bonnie's magic."

"I'll call Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie." Elena said.

"I'll help." Katherine added unexpectedly.

Elena raised an eyebrow. "They hate you."

Katherine shrugged. "Then I'll pretend I'm you."

"Katherine …" Stefan said warningly.

"Relax, I was joking." Katherine said, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, kids," Damon said, interrupting them. "Don't make me send you to your rooms." He snagged another glass and poured another glass of bourbon, setting it beside his.

"Who's that for?" Stefan asked.

Damon gave him a barely-tolerating glance. "Ric."

Elena bit her lip. "Damon, Ric's …"

"I know that." Damon said, downing both glasses. "And I know it's pathetic. But it's less depressing than admitting that I've got to babysit you lot by myself. Here's what we're going to do." He said, ignoring Elena and Caroline's affronted expressions. "I'm going to go and talk to Liz. Stefan is going to go and talk to Carol. Elena's going to call Sabrina, Bruce and Captain Meathead …"

"Bruce?" Elena interrupted, not bothering to scold him for the other nicknames.

"Bruce Willis." Katherine elaborated. "_The Sixth Sense _– I see dead people."

"Right." Damon confirmed. "Vampire Barbie – go and tell Klaus to cool his heels for a while."

"What about me?" Katherine asked, before Caroline could protest.

Damon caught her gaze. "Stay."

No one remarked on the double meaning behind his statement.

* * *

Caroline wrapped her arms around herself as she walked deeper into the woods surrounding Mystic Falls. As a vampire, she didn't get cold, but she shivered all the same. She felt safer around Klaus than she liked to admit, but she definitely did _not_ feel comfortable around him.

It wasn't even the way he claimed to feel about her – she hated the way he made _her _feel about _him_, and she hated that she couldn't just dismiss it as hatred.

But, oh, she wished she could.

She came to a halt in the same place she had encountered Klaus the night before, and cautiously peered around her. "Klaus?"

"Hello, love."

He probably heard her breath catch with surprise, but she forced herself not to outwardly react, turning slowly to survey him. As long as he didn't speak and she didn't look him in the eye, she could imagine it was really Tyler in front of her.

"What's the verdict?" Klaus asked, placing a hand over Tyler's heart. "Am I tearing or not?"

Caroline flinched. "I know you're trying to negotiate here, but you don't have to be such a dick about it!"

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "My apologies, Caroline. I didn't realise this was upsetting you so much."

"You're threatening to kill my boyfriend!" Caroline snapped. "Of course I'm upset!"

Klaus crossed his arms, leaning against the nearest tree. "And yet you're surprisingly lax about pissing me off."

"You won't kill Tyler." Caroline said, with more certainty than she felt. "It would kill you."

Klaus laughed. "Caroline, do you really think I would threaten to kill Tyler without a Plan B?"

Caroline sighed as Katherine's statement was confirmed. "No, I don't." She admitted, silently adding, _Not anymore_. "Look, we need time."

"I don't have time." Klaus responded.

"Tough." Caroline said frankly. "Bonnie's going to need time to build up her energy. Why are you coming to us anyway? Wouldn't Rebekah be better suited to help?"

Klaus scowled, the expression darkening Tyler's face. "She killed my doppelganger."

"Elena isn't 'your' anything!" Caroline argued fiercely.

"Present tense, love?" Klaus asked. "Touch of denial, is there?"

"I just spoke to Elena, actually." Caroline said coolly. "There was a mix-up at the hospital."

A spark of relief appeared in his eyes, and she felt a vague stab of guilt that she hadn't been entirely truthful. She dismissed it instantly, however; the longer Klaus remained in the dark about Elena's vampirism, the longer Elena was safe from his rage and retribution.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she checked it to find a text from Elena. _They're here._

Elena was fairly sure Jeremy must have broken traffic laws in getting to the boarding house, especially since he picked up Bonnie and Matt on the way, but by the time Damon and Stefan arrived back almost at the same time with Liz and Carol, she was wrapped in her brother's arms, sobbing with relief.

When he had raced through the door, Katherine had wandered back into the room from wherever she'd been lurking.

"Try not to eat him."

Elena gave her a withering look seconds before Jeremy collided with her, almost knocking her off-balance, despite her new strength. She didn't say anything though.

Over the last few days, she had become very good at translating Katherine.

_Try not to eat him_ was Katherine's way of saying _I won't let you hurt him._

Jeremy didn't release her, forcing Matt and Bonnie to hug both of them in order to greet her. Katherine was largely ignored, except for the fact that Bonnie refused to turn her back on her.

Stefan practically carried Carol through the door, depositing her on the couch, and Katherine – in another display of unnerving humanity – fetched her a mug of coffee, adding a shot of whiskey before pushing it into the woman's hands.

Liz and Damon followed at a more sedate pace, the Sheriff sitting beside her friend and placing a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Jeremy finally released Elena, looking into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Elena smiled tremulously. "I was fine until we got back here and Caroline dropped the bombshell."

Jeremy nodded understandingly, now glancing distrustfully at Katherine.

"She's fine." Elena said, texting Caroline to let her know that everyone had arrived. "She was a big help, Jeremy. Really."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes at Elena, as though trying to decide whether she was trying to avoid conflict or telling the truth. Apparently deciding on the truth, he stood up and approached Katherine, holding his hand out. "Thank you."

Katherine eyed it warily. "Seriously?"

Jeremy shrugged, not backing down. "I guess everyone deserves a second chance."

Katherine shook his hand, still looking vaguely suspicious. "I threatened to kill you."

"Damon _did_ kill me." Jeremy retorted.

"Excuse me?" Liz asked sharply. "When was this?"

"Not long before Katherine killed me." Caroline answered, stalking into the living room. "You still owe me for that." She added.

Katherine shrugged lazily. "Cash or credit?"

"Wait." Carol said shakily, looking between Katherine and Elena. "Who – How?"

"Long story." Damon muttered. "To cut it short, this is Katherine, she's a vampire, turned in 1492. She and Elena are both doppelgangers of a woman named Tatia, who lived over a thousand years ago. They look completely identical, but they're completely different."

"And she's also technically responsible for your daughter being a vampire." Stefan added to Liz.

"Which you're going to let me handle," Caroline added, "because she's less of a threat to me than she is to you."

Katherine snorted. "Don't count on it."

"You're not helping!" Caroline protested. "Look, can we _please _just focus on Tyler and Klaus here?!"

"Yes, please." Carol sniffed. "Stefan said Tyler was dead?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well explained, brother. He's not exactly dead, Carol, but he's in something of a hostage situation."

"So if we help Klaus get his body back, Tyler's safe, but Klaus is back." Liz concluded. "Whereas if we don't, Tyler's dead and Klaus comes back anyway?"

"And all hell breaks loose." Elena added.

"There's only one option then, isn't there?" Jeremy asked. "We have to help." He glanced at Bonnie. "Are you up for it?"

Bonnie grimaced. "I'll need time to work something out with the spirits. They won't like it."

"They don't have to like it." Damon said, rolling his eyes. "They just have to play ball."

"Yeah, trouble is, Damon – if they don't like it, they're kind of reluctant to play ball." Bonnie retorted.

"Ignore him." Jeremy said, taking her hand. "He's a dick."

Elena raised an eyebrow at the two of them. She knew that they still cared about each other, but it seemed as though they'd patched up their relationship and were giving things another shot.

She was glad. Bonnie and Jeremy were good together and – more importantly – they were happy together.

"So what now?" Elena asked.

"See if we can get Klaus to give me a few days to build up the energy." Bonnie answered.

"He's given us a week." Caroline informed her.

"That'll do it." Damon remarked, glancing around. Since her sarcastic retort to Caroline, Katherine had been strangely silent, so her absence was unsurprising.

What _was_ surprising was the pang in his chest at the realisation. He didn't blame her entirely – Klaus being alive meant that her safety was no longer guaranteed, and whatever she might feel for him, her own self-preservation was paramount.

He should have known she'd run.

But he couldn't deny that he'd allowed himself to think, even for a second, that she'd stay.

"Well," he continued, "now that's sorted, I can't hang around with you lot all day."

Stefan looked up as he got to his feet. "Hang on. Where's …?"

Elena elbowed him in the side, cutting off his query.

_Bless her. She knows. _

Not for the first time, he found himself insanely grateful for Elena's compassion. He knew she would distract the others, draw them into conversation, and distract them from his departure.

He also knew that he would curse her compassion later, when it would drive her to seek him out and offer comfort and sympathy.

For now, however, he took the out and made his way upstairs. His body hummed, demanding blood, and he briefly contemplated heading out to find someone. The mood he was in, he needed it from the vein or not at all.

But the mood he was in, he'd end up killing the unwilling donor.

That didn't particularly bother him, but with Liz and Carol wound as tightly as they were right now, it was a really stupid move in Mystic Falls, and he didn't think he could be bothered to go further afield right now.

He stalked into his room, pulling his shirt over his head as he did. Katherine had slept in it the night before, and it still smelled like her. He needed to get it as far away from him as possible.

It was unbelievable, really, that he'd even let her back in after everything, honestly believed that this time was different, that she truly loved him, and he'd ended up in exactly the same place as 146 years ago – alone, with only the faint smell of ginger and lemon as evidence that she'd ever been in his arms in the first place.

He was pathetic, he was desperate, he was …

"Damon?"

_Wrong. I was wrong._

Katherine was standing in the doorway to his bathroom, watching him in confusion. As he looked at her, though, the confusion drained away to be left with understanding. "You thought I'd left."

"I wouldn't blame you." Damon said in a low voice, tossing his shirt on the bed. "Klaus is alive, after all."

Katherine sighed, crossing to the bed and sitting down, absently picking up the shirt and folding it neatly. "Everything I've done since I became a vampire has been to protect myself, Damon. To keep one step ahead of Klaus, to keep myself alive. Since I met you, I had another reason. Klaus would kill you in a heartbeat to get revenge on me." She set the shirt to one side, looking up to meet his eyes. "Walking away from you, Damon … It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and the only reason I managed to do it was because I knew it was for the best, I knew it would keep you safe. But now …"

"It's not going to." Damon finished.

"I'm tired, Damon." Katherine said softly. "I told you once that I didn't let love get in the way, and you told me that I'd spend eternity alone. I don't want to. I told you I'd stay, Damon. And I'm not going anywhere. Not without you."


	3. Chapter 3

A week later, the Lockwood cellar where Tyler usually transformed was a lot busier than usual. Klaus – in Tyler's body – was pacing impatiently while Bonnie double-checked the spell. Caroline was hovering near the door, practically vibrating with nerves. Stefan was leaning against the door, his arms folded across his chest.

It wasn't necessary for either of them to be here, but Caroline insisted on being there when Tyler got his body back, and Stefan insisted on being there to make sure she was alright.

Elena had wanted to be there too, but she also knew that it was a really bad idea, so she was with Katherine back at the boarding house, while they tried to stop Damon from climbing the walls with frustration.

Maybe it was something to do with being the older brother, but 'protective' was something Damon Salvatore was very good at, and right now, every one of his instincts was screaming at him to get Katherine and Elena as far away from Klaus as possible.

What no one could understand was why Katherine was stalling him.

Admittedly, she'd already said that she wasn't going anywhere without him, but Damon had made it clear that if she wanted to run, he'd go with her.

Anywhere.

Finally Bonnie cleared her throat. "Alright. Klaus, you need to be lying down for this. You'll feel a tingling sensation, maybe some pain, but it's necessary."

"And the spirits are going to let you do this?" Stefan asked, with some scepticism.

Bonnie shrugged. "They're angry with Esther for creating another Original in the first place, so for some reason, undoing that makes everything better, even if they hate hybrids."

"Undoing …" Caroline took a step forwards. "Are they bringing Ric back?"

"I don't think so." Bonnie frowned. "Just undoing what he did."

"Well, for their sake, the Original Witch had better stay dead." Klaus muttered, dropping to the ground where Bonnie gestured.

"Threatening them probably isn't your best move." Stefan advised. "They're the ones giving Bonnie the power to do this."

"Speaking of which," Bonnie said, before Klaus could respond, "Caroline, go and stand next to Stefan, and neither of you move until I stop talking."

Stefan unfolded his arms, and wrapped them around Caroline's waist instead. Vampirism was fast and impulsive, and when provoked listened to no one, not even the person it resided in. The one thing it did listen to was hierarchy, and the gentle pressure of his embrace served both to comfort her and remind her vampire side when it urged her to leap to Tyler's side that he was older and, therefore, stronger. As her sire, it was possible – even probable – that Damon would be more effective, but Caroline had already proved, sire or not, that she had no issue with fighting Damon off and, if she was riled up enough, could even get the upper hand.

Privately, Stefan wondered if subconsciously Damon let her get the upper hand in some kind of fit of chivalry, but dismissed the thought almost immediately as Bonnie began chanting.

A glowing light appeared beside Tyler/Klaus, forming itself into the shape of another body, which soon became recognisable as the Klaus they recognised.

A few minutes later, Tyler's form began twitching and glowing, and Caroline twitched in Stefan's arms, and he tightened them automatically.

Suddenly, the whole room was filled with a blinding bright light, Tyler's voice was screaming in pain, Bonnie's chanting rose to a crescendo, and then everything fell silent, the old cellar suddenly dark after the previous light.

"Tyler!" Caroline screamed, fighting to free herself from Stefan's grip. He refused to release her, letting his eyes adjust to the light so he could see Bonnie again.

"Let her go." She said weakly, just as Stefan caught sight of her, slumped against the opposite wall. He let go of Caroline immediately, speeding to Bonnie's side to help her up.

Caroline blurred over to Tyler's motionless form, cradling his head in her lap. "Tyler? Tyler! Please wake up! Tyler!"

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked quietly, steadying the young witch. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Bonnie answered, smiling weakly. "They'll be fine as well. Just give them a few minutes."

Sure enough, Klaus was beginning to stir. Stefan hesitated, hovering beside Bonnie.

Once it had become apparent that killing Klaus was not going to be an option, and Stefan had allowed emotions other than hate escape the strong wall turning off his humanity had erected, he had found it difficult to shake the memories of the 1920s that had come flooding back when Klaus removed the compulsion. He had to admit that part of the reason he was so angry with Klaus was because – at one point, at least – they had been _friends_.

No, more than friends – they had considered each other brothers.

That wasn't too comforting, really, given Klaus's propensity for killing (even temporarily) his siblings and, as Damon had stated, he already _had_ a brother (and whatever disagreements he had Damon had, no one could deny they loved each other, however much they pretended otherwise).

But they had been friends, which meant that at least some of Stefan's anger stemmed from a sense of personal betrayal.

It also meant that at least a small part of him was hoping that they could form some kind of peace between the Originals and the rest of Mystic Falls.

And it was this small part that made him walk over and offer a hand to the Original hybrid currently lying on the ground.

Klaus opened his eyes, his gaze focussing on Stefan and narrowing with suspicion. Nevertheless, he grasped Stefan's outstretched hand and used it to pull himself to his feet, releasing it instantly.

Stefan cleared his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Spell work the way it was supposed to?"

"Seems so." Klaus responded. "Thank you for your assistance, Bonnie."

"You didn't really give us much of a choice, did you?" Bonnie muttered under her breath, with a jerk of her head that might have been acknowledgement.

Stefan shifted slightly so he was standing between her and Klaus. "What happens now?"

Klaus brushed some invisible lint from his shirt. "I have some hybrids to attend to."

Stefan's eyes flickered towards Tyler automatically, and Klaus's lips curved in a cruel smirk. "Oh, he's a lost cause, Stefan; don't worry. As long as he doesn't cross me again …"

"Oh, I don't think that's on his mind right now." Stefan muttered absently.

"No." Klaus agreed, his jaw clenching as he looked at his first hybrid, cradled in Caroline's lap. "Nauseating, isn't it?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Stefan asked darkly. He knew Klaus had an interest in Caroline, but he didn't trust it.

Klaus chuckled. "As it happens, I do. I'm sure you can find some way to entertain yourself in the meantime, _old friend_."

Bonnie let out a sigh, as Klaus disappeared. "Does he know about …?"

Stefan held up a hand to stop her, listening hard. He didn't think Klaus was eavesdropping, but he wanted to be sure. Once he was certain the Original hybrid was nowhere nearby, he sighed. "If he does, he's not letting on."

"What's going to happen when he finds out?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Stefan admitted, feeling the Ripper rise within him again. Closing his eyes, he took several calming breaths, focussing on the scent of the earthy walls, as different from blood as possible.

He knew that if Elena had to choose between her own life and those of the people she cared about, she would give herself up in a heartbeat.

He also knew that Damon would sooner sacrifice everyone else and lock her in a tower than see her hurt.

Damon's overprotectiveness annoyed Elena, but Stefan was almost grateful for it. He loved Elena, too much to watch her go through the agonising torture of losing those close to her, but that didn't mean that respecting her choices and wishes in this matter was easy. The vampire within him howled in rage and protest at the thought of Klaus doing anything to harm Elena when he found out about her newly undead status.

He never allowed himself to acknowledge that part of him whilst Elena was human, simply because he didn't trust himself to keep control around her.

Now that she was a vampire, however, he didn't feel quite as concerned. Her blood no longer called to him like a siren's song, even if her body and soul did, and he no longer felt the unwavering need to handle her with kid gloves, so to speak.

Elena would insist that he'd never needed to, but Stefan would disagree.

Pushing this to the back of his mind for now – he would discuss it with Elena later – he focussed on Caroline and Tyler, hoping that he would wake soon.

He didn't want to cut their reunion short, but the sooner they got out of this place, the better.

"Tyler?" Caroline whispered, carting her fingers through his hair. Like Stefan, she wanted to get out of there quickly. She'd tuned out most of her best friend's conversation with Klaus, but not enough to miss the way Klaus's eyes had lingered on her.

She hated it when he did that.

She hated that she didn't completely hate it.

Tyler's eyes shot open as he gasped for breath, bringing her attention back to him, and she happily shoved any and all thoughts of Klaus to the back of her mind, leaning down to press a kiss to Tyler's forehead. "Oh thank God …"

"Caroline …" Tyler sat up, twisting to face her as he did so. "Oh, God, Caroline, are you alright?"

"You're the one who was possessed by an evil hybrid." Caroline retorted. "Are _you_ alright?"

"I think so." Tyler said, frowning. "When my head stops throbbing, I'm gonna need you to repeat that and expand."

"Yeah, well, in the meantime, can we get out of here?" Bonnie asked. "This place gives me the creeps and Mayor Lockwood's probably going frantic by now."

"Right." Stefan agreed, pulling Tyler to his feet. "Sure you're alright, man?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Tyler reasserted, rubbing his head. "Headache, but that's it. _Should_ there be something else?"

"No." Bonnie answered. "But knowing Klaus …"

Caroline's phone beeped in her pocket, and she checked the screen, letting Tyler pull her up as well. "Mom says Carol's just about to come running down here; we should get moving."

"Okay." Tyler agreed. "Just one thing …" He wrapped an arm around Caroline's waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. "I love you." He whispered as they parted.

Caroline heaved a deep sigh of contentment, resting her forehead against his. "I love you too."

* * *

"Damon, stop pacing." Elena said, not looking up from her book.

"Five minutes." Damon said tersely. "Five minutes, and we're leaving the country."

"That's what you said five minutes ago." Elena said, turning the page. "I don't remember reading that part last time."

Damon cast an eye over her shoulder as he passed behind her. "It's a first edition – it was edited out later."

"Oh." Elena murmured, continuing.

"How the hell are you so calm?!" Damon demanded.

"Freaking out won't change anything." Elena pointed out. "And Stefan would have texted us if anything went wrong."

"She's right, Damon." Katherine agreed from the kitchen. "Do you want a cookie?"

"For being right?" Elena asked, trying to work out if Katherine was being sarcastic or not.

Over the past week, they hadn't really spent much time together. Stefan had been teaching Elena how to hunt, and they had taken the opportunity to reconnect.

"No, an actual cookie." Katherine said, holding out the plate with an eye-roll. "I just made them."

"Katherine, you can't cook." Damon pointed out, not halting his pacing.

"You've never seen me cook." Katherine retorted.

"_I _can't cook." Elena corrected. "And yes he has. You made breakfast."

"Anyone can make French toast and scramble eggs." Damon said dismissively.

"I can't." Elena pointed out. "And you're on thin ice."

"Very thin." Katherine agreed.

"Klaus is getting his body back and you're baking?" Damon asked.

Katherine shrugged. "Better than getting all worked up like you. Here." As Damon passed her, she shoved a cookie in his mouth.

"Dammit, Katherine, I do not need …" Damon broke off, catching the pieces of cookie that had escaped. "Oh my God."

"Good?" Katherine asked sweetly, offering the plate to Elena.

"Very good." Damon confirmed.

Elena took a bite of hers, groaning in appreciation. "Oh God, these are fantastic." She smirked at Damon. "And you said we didn't need to eat."

"I'll make an exception." Damon said, snagging another one. "I don't give you enough credit." He added, his hand brushing Katherine's in a silent apology.

The front door slammed shut, and Stefan appeared in the doorway. "It's done. Klaus is gathering his hybrids back together as we speak."

"Great." Elena muttered. "Just what we need. Have a cookie, it'll make you feel better."

"Did you make them?" Stefan asked, trying not to sound too worried.

"No, I did." Katherine answered.

"I'll … I'll pass, thanks." Stefan said. "Elena, can we talk?"

"Sure." Elena closed her book, took another cookie, and slipped her hand into Stefan's letting him pull her upstairs to his room. "They weren't poisoned, you know."

"Never said they were." Stefan said, pushing the door shut behind them.

"You were thinking it." Elena said, brushing crumbs from her hands. "What's up?"

"Klaus is back." Stefan said grimly, sinking on to his bed. "I don't think he knows about you yet."

"Well, as far as I know, he's still go blood bags from the last time he paid a visit." Elena said slowly. "We should be okay for a while."

"And then what?" Stefan asked. "What happens when he needs more, and realises that he's not gonna get it? He hunted Katherine for _five hundred years_, Elena …"

"And killed her entire family first." Elena finished. "You know what I'm going to say, Stefan. I'd rather let him kill me than see another person I love die."

"I know that." Stefan said quietly. "I know you would, Elena, and I … I will respect that, but …"

"But?" Elena prompted. As a human, she had known that it wasn't as easy as Stefan claimed for him to let her make her own decisions in this case, especially when the outcome would lead to her death, but she had never pushed him on the subject, not wanting to admit that she was a little scared to do so.

Now, however, she had no such qualms, and she couldn't deny the shivers that ran through her when he lifted his head, his eyes almost burning.

"But the thought of that son of a bitch hurting you makes me want to rip him limb from limb." He growled. "And every inch of me wants to protect you and I can't."

"I know." Elena murmured, perching on his lap. "I know you do, Stefan. I love you so much; I couldn't imagine standing back and letting you sacrifice yourself for us." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Hell, I didn't."

With a tenderness that contrasted the fire in his eyes, Stefan brushed the tear away. "I wasn't dead though, sweetheart. It wasn't just me you were trying to save. It was every person unlucky enough to cross me."

"I love you." Elena repeated, seeing the anguish in his expression.

"It should have been you." Stefan whispered, his eyes locked with hers. "When I switched my humanity back on … I had to lock on to one thing to keep from drowning in guilt … I locked on to hate. I swore to get revenge on Klaus for what he did, but … It should have been you. I should have trusted you … trusted my instincts … believed you were still mine." His eyes closed and he drew her closer. "I love you so much, Elena. You're …" He trailed off, pressing kisses all over her face while she sighed happily.

"I know." She breathed. Before, she would have pushed, but now she truly appreciated what it felt like for emotions to be amplified a hundred-fold. It was simply too intense to put into words, and she wouldn't try to force it.

She was his, and he was hers. And right now, that was all that mattered.

* * *

At the Lockwoods', Caroline had yet to release Tyler, her face buried in his neck as he stroked her hair soothingly. His free hand gripped his mother's as he silently thought over the story Caroline had told him.

His mom was still crying, her tears contradicting the wide smile on her face. When he caught her eye, she brushed the tears away, still beaming at him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom." Tyler assured her, feeling Caroline shift so she wasn't as engulfed by him. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"You didn't, sweetheart." Carol said, looking sad. "I … I didn't really think about your disappearance again … I just thought … I thought you heard and …"

"Heard?" Caroline asked. "Heard what?"

"Liz and I …" Carol sighed. "Our positions in the Council have been shaken up a little. We're not quite sure how, but … some of the others seem to have lost trust in us. I assumed you'd heard. Liz did tell Damon."

"Well, he didn't say anything to us." Caroline said, frowning. Suddenly Damon's instance on getting Elena out of town to learn how to feed made much more sense. A new vampire would attract far too much attention.

"Who's behind it?" Tyler asked. "How much do they know?"

"We're not sure." Carol admitted. "It's Pastor Young mostly, but the others are right behind him."

Tyler and Caroline looked at each other. Pastor Young had been a part of both of their lives since they were born. His daughter, April, was a few years younger than them, and Elena and Caroline had often baby-sat until she went away to boarding school, following the death of her mother.

"They're listening?" Caroline asked. "I mean, he hasn't really been himself since Michelle died, and … Well, I thought the Council didn't think there were any vampires left in …" She trailed off. "Alaric. Alaric told them, didn't he?"

Carol nodded. "We've managed to convince them that his insistence that we knew was … well, delusional ranting, but they still think there are vampires in Mystic Falls. I don't know if they know who they are, but it might be safer if …"

At that moment, the door opened and Liz walked in, her face grim, but pale. "Have these two been out of your sight in the last hour or so, Carol?"

Carol looked perplexed. "No. Why?"

Liz sighed. "There's been an explosion at the Young farm. Pastor Young and the rest of the Council are dead."

"Is there any chance this was a gas leak or something?" Carol asked.

"No signs of broken pipes or malfunction." Liz answered. "This was no accident. This was murder."

* * *

**AN: Although there will be some common plotlines and themes with Season 4, this is technically AU - no Shane, no Silas, no Cure.**


	4. Chapter 4

"DAMON!"

"Is she sure?" Carol whispered to Tyler, as they waited in the living room of the boarding house.

Tyler shrugged. "She wouldn't be here if she wasn't."

"Actually, I'm not sure." Caroline admitted over her shoulder. "But he's the best place to start. DAMON!"

"I heard you the first time, Barbie." Damon said, leaning against the door frame that led into the kitchen. "You don't need to yell."

Caroline glared at him. "Were you ever going to tell us about the council?"

"The council?" Damon faked a look of confusion for a second. "Oh, right. Pastor Young's insistence that we burn all the vampires!" He finished in a cheery tone, clearly mocking her. "Relax. I took care of it."

"You killed them?!" Carol and Liz demanded in unison.

"Killed them?" Damon repeated, now looking genuinely confused. "No, I hooked up a camera before Elena died and Ric dropped and streamed the video of him trying to kill me to the rest of the council members. They know he was a vampire, so why would they listen to him?"

"Damon, the Young farmhouse just blew up." Liz told him gravely. "Taking Pastor Young and the rest of the council with it."

"Huh." Damon responded. "Well, I'm sorry for your loss … es, ladies, but I don't honestly see how this is a bad thing."

"Someone killed the council, Damon!" Caroline protested. "Was it you?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Am I wearing my 'I blew up the council' t-shirt or are you just not listening? I told you, no. Are you sure it was murder?"

"Well, there are no signs of explosives." Liz conceded. "But there's also no signs of malfunction or faults."

"So it was probably the gas line." Damon concluded. "And it was tampered with. He could have done that himself. Wouldn't be the first religious nut to blow himself up and take others with him."

"He _has_ been depressed since his wife passed." Carol remarked slowly. "Sending April away to school didn't help …"

"Well, who else could it have been?" Damon asked. "The only people who had any reason to want the council dead are the vampires. Barbie doesn't have it in her, Stefan's on a guilt trip, and Elena and I were out of town – and you can ask her. I never left the lake house. I suppose it could be Rebekah, but she's an Original; she's got nothing worry about. Same goes for Elijah and Kol, and they're out of town anyway. Unless Klaus used Fido's body for more than just a place-holder."

"Stop calling me that." Tyler growled.

Damon smirked. "Or what, you'll bite me?"

Tyler scowled at him. "Don't tempt me."

"It's not Klaus's style." Caroline said almost absently, ignoring the byplay. "What about Katherine?"

"With you on Klaus, Barbie, but Katherine didn't know about Alaric." Damon said. "Liz warned me as I went out to deal with him. I just about had time to set up the camera, but I'd honestly forgotten about it in the wake of the whole Elena debacle."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't why you wanted to get her out of town?"

"Well, partly." Damon conceded. "But that was mostly because everything going on here is stressful enough on human emotions – with the emotions of a newly-turned vampire … I mean, you remember how many times you went into hysterics when you turned, right?"

"You were planning on killing me." Caroline reminded him though gritted teeth.

"I thought it was for the best." Damon said with a shrug. "So sue me. How was I supposed to know that you'd take to vampirism like a duck to water?"

"You tried to kill my daughter?" Liz asked icily.

"Technically, she's already dead." Damon said. "And this coming from the woman who said she'd rather die than know her daughter was a vampire."

"I never said that!" Liz protested.

"Yes, you did, Mom." Caroline sighed. "You found out about Damon and Stefan before you found out about them. We compelled you to forget when you thought you had the flu. You told Damon he should have killed you and to keep me away from you. But that," she continued, grasping the hand her mother reached out to her, "is not the point, so stop deflecting, Damon."

"You started it." Damon shot back. "I don't know what happened to the council. I just know it wasn't me, as nice and neat as that would be."

Caroline nodded, sensing that Damon was telling the truth. "In which case, I'm sorry for suspecting you."

"Apology accepted, Barbie." Damon responded. "Shouldn't you be out playing fetch?"

Tyler started forwards, but Caroline caught his arm and began dragging him towards the door. "Thanks, Damon."

Damon didn't respond, not moving even after the door closed, listening carefully as four people got into a car and drove away.

Once he was sure Caroline and Tyler were out of earshot, he smirked. "Miss Pierce, eavesdropping is also considered a sign of very poor manners."

"I was curious." Katherine drawled, letting herself fall from the landing balcony. The descent slowed mid-fall, but Damon stepped beneath her anyway, letting her drop into his arms.

"Caught you."

"So you did." Katherine purred. "What are you going to do with me?"

Damon set her on her feet, pressing her against the wall. "Did you have anything to do with that explosion?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You know, Damon, you've always known just what a girl wants to hear."

"Did you?" Damon asked.

"How could I?" Katherine responded. "You never told me, remember?"

"And Rebekah never told me what she was looking for." Damon said, pushing Katherine's hair back from her face. "Doesn't mean I didn't find out. Did you go poking around my head, Kitten?"

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Kitten?"

"You won't let me call you Kat." Damon pointed out. "And I like giving people nicknames. I don't think I could use 'Angel' with a straight face anymore."

Katherine shrugged as though she didn't care either way. "Suit yourself." She sighed. "No, I did not go 'poking', Damon. When I arrived at the lake house, I didn't know you and Elena were there, not until I saw your car. I was planning on staying there for the night and then continuing on to Mystic Falls in the morning. Since you were there, however …"

_Letting herself in quietly, Katherine set her bag on the couch and opened it. All was silent above her, and she pulled out some clothes and a robe, folding them into a pile. Then, she removed the remaining blood bags and set them in the refrigerator so they didn't go bad. She shouldered the bag and carried the pile of clothes upstairs, trying to remember the layout of the lake house._

_She hadn't been back here since the few secluded days she and Damon had spent hidden away from the world, and she had been in a lot of houses since then._

_Elena was fairly easy to find, her breathing audible though the door even now she was dead. Setting her bag down in the hallway, Katherine took another moment to make sure Elena was asleep, before pushing the door open._

_She could only assume this had been Damon's mother's room, and she placed the clothes on top of the dresser, laying the robe on top so that Elena would see it when she woke up._

_Casting a glance at her sleeping doppelganger, Katherine noticed that the covers had slipped almost to the floor. Even vampires could get cold, especially when they were as new as Elena._

_Before Katherine had consciously thought about, she had crossed the floor, pulling the covers back up and over her shadow-self. _

_As soon as her actions caught up with her, she blurred from the room, silently shutting the door behind her._

_Vampires didn't need to breathe, but most continued to. Damon, she knew from her time at the boarding house, still breathed automatically, but stopped in his sleep._

_Working out which rooms he wasn't in … That would be the fun part._

_As it happened, she lost on the first try, but thankfully found him dead to the world … no pun intended._

_She should retreat, ensconce herself in one of the other rooms, and prepare for the inevitable drama that tomorrow would bring, but against her better instincts, she crossed the floor to Damon's still form._

_Asleep, Damon could pass for the sweet, innocent human she had fallen in love with all those years ago, but she knew better._

_He wasn't truly innocent then, and he certainly wasn't now._

_She suddenly felt very tired. Her body ached for him to hold her, her heart screamed for him to forgive her, her head scolded her and told her to leave before she did something undeniably stupid._

_The truth would hurt her far more than it would hurt him._

_He deserved better than her anyway._

_Her head won, but she could resist reaching out to touch his face. Even asleep, his mind was racing, and she wrenched her hand away as thoughts flooded into her head._

_Filing them to the back of her mind for later, she left the room, picked up her bag, and made her way to the empty guest room._

_She could figure the rest out in the morning._

"So you see," Katherine finished, "I didn't go poking around in your head – _you_ projected. Vividly."

"So you did kill them." Damon concluded, a strange glint in his eye. "I don't know if I'm relieved or disappointed."

"Disappointed?" Katherine asked.

"An explosion?" Damon responded. "Bit heavy-handed, Kitten. I expected better."

Katherine laughed. "Oh ye of little faith. When I came back to town to talk to Stefan, I ran into Pastor Young on the way back. He thought I was Elena, kept talking about how no one was safe, and how the council didn't believe him because Alaric was a vampire, and he needed to protect the council … You said so yourself, Damon; he's not the first religious nut to blow himself up 'for the greater good'. Although, I must say, I wasn't expecting him to take the rest of the council with him."

"You compelled him to kill himself?" Damon asked.

Katherine snorted. "No compulsion necessary, trust me. Besides, he was practically leaking vervain. He was already halfway there without me. All it took was a little … persuasion."

Damon mirrored her smirk and leaned down to kiss her. "Seriously though, Katherine," he mumbled against her lips, "shouldn't we leave town?"

"Why? The council's dead." Katherine pointed out, breaking the kiss.

"It's Klaus I'm worried about." Damon muttered.

"Oh." Katherine sighed. "I told you, Damon, I'm not going anywhere without you …"

"… which is why I asked if _we_ should leave town." Damon finished. "I'm thinking Puerto Rico."

Katherine's face lit up in a smile, but she shook her head. "Damon, you could never leave Stefan and Elena with Klaus in town, and Elena would never leave Jeremy, and Jeremy – at least – has a shot at a normal life. Besides, if you leave, it'll attract his attention, which we don't want. I think, for the time being, we'll be alright."

Damon grimaced. "Alright. But I'm booking tickets on flights to at least ten different places, you don't go _anywhere_ Klaus might see you and Elena side by side, and if we get even the _slightest_ hint he knows you're in town, we're out of here."

"Done." Katherine agreed easily. "Have I ever told you how hot you are when you take control?"

Damon smirked, lifting her into his arms so her legs wrapped around his waist. "You may have mentioned it. Why don't we go upstairs and you can elaborate?"

* * *

"Why does he have to be such a dick?" Tyler demanded, pacing around his room.

"That's just Damon, Tyler." Caroline said soothingly. "He's trying to get under your skin."

"Well, it's working." Tyler muttered, dropping onto his bed. His head settled in Caroline's lap, and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"You know, you two have quite a lot in common." Caroline remarked. "If you stopped trying to out-alpha male each other all the time …"

"Out-alpha male each other?" Tyler repeated incredulously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're both dominant personalities." Caroline elaborated as the doorbell rang downstairs. "You clash." She sighed. "What are we going to do?"

Tyler shifted to pull her into his arms. "As much as I hate to admit it, Care, Damon has a point. Any of the people in that house would have killed us without a second thought."

"What if Pastor Young told someone else though?" Caroline asked. "Someone who _did_ believe him?"

"Then we'll handle it." Tyler said soothingly, kissing her head. "We'll be alright."

"What are you?" Carol's voice said from the hall. "The press?!"

Tyler frowned, sitting up. "Stay here, alright? I'm gonna go and back Mom up. Last thing she needs is stupid questions."

"Sure." Caroline watched him leave the room and took a few steady breaths. Although she didn't need oxygen anymore, she found it calmed her, although not for long.

Several loud bangs sounded from downstairs, and Carol screamed. Caroline jolted to her feet, and raced for the door.

"Tyler! Oh my God, Tyler, run!" Carol yelled.

Glass broke, the front door slammed, and Caroline stopped dead in the middle of the stairs. Carol was pressed against the wall, staring at a blood stain on the tiled floor.

"What happened?!" Caroline asked, hurrying to her side.

"He … He …"

Realising that she wasn't going to get an answer out of Carol while she was this hysterical, Caroline steered her into the kitchen, poured her a stiff drink, and practically forced it down her throat.

"Nice and slow, Mrs Lockwood," Caroline said coaxingly. "What happened?"

"He said his name was Connor Jordan." Carol said haltingly. "Said he was with the insurance company about the Young farm. When Tyler came down, he introduced himself and shook his hand, but something burned him and … he shot him. I told Tyler to run; he broke through the window."

"Alright." Caroline pulled out her phone and dialled Tyler's number. When there was no answer, she switched to Stefan's.

_"No time, Caroline."_

"It's Tyler." Caroline said quickly, before Stefan could hang up.

_"Yeah, I know." _Stefan assured her. _"He's with us, and I need to get these bullets out as quickly as possible; they're steeped in vervain."_

Caroline swallowed. "Alright, Stefan. Thanks." She hung up. "He's at the boarding house; he's safe."

Carol breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank heavens! Do you think Pastor Young gave him your names?"

Caroline shook her head. "No, because he waited for Tyler to shake his hand. My guess is that he's heard rumours about this town being a honey-trap for the supernatural, and he wanted to set a trap. Soaking his glove in vervain; excellent way of singling us out." She bit her lip. "Lucky it's winter; we can all get away with wearing gloves too."

"He had wooden bullets." Carol whispered. "Why would he be carrying wooden bullets?"

"Same reason he'd soak those bullets and his gloves in vervain." Caroline answered grimly. "We've got a hunter on our hands."

* * *

**AN: As I said before, this is AU, so no cure or Silas. As such, the 'Brotherhood of the Five' doesn't exist, but Connor is part of a group of very good vampire hunters.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Again, we're dipping into 4x02 for a bit.**

* * *

"Hi, thanks for coming."

"It is – dreadful loss."

"No, my mother hasn't said anything to me."

"An accident, I believe."

"Have you noticed," Elena said after a while, "that our vocabulary seems to have dwindled to a handful of sentences?"

"Part of the job." Caroline answered, pasting a sad smile on her face and handing another Order of Service to a mourner. "Hi, thanks for coming."

"How's Tyler?" Elena asked, as soon as the woman had passed.

Caroline sighed. "Recovered, thankfully. He was really weak for ages though."

"This really isn't his year, is it?" Elena sighed. "Loses his father, loses his uncle, activates the curse, becomes a hybrid, has to force himself to transform over and over and over again, gets used as body armour, and then becomes a hunter's pin-cushion."

Caroline shook her head. "It's not just Tyler, Elena. We've all had a crappy year." She glanced over her shoulder. "He got here early. The hunter knows his face now; we can't risk him watching."

"I know." Elena answered. "Stefan got here just before him so he could keep an eye on things. I think he feels guilty that Tyler's a hybrid in the first place."

Caroline grimaced. "It's not his fault he was all … Ripper-y at the time."

Their voices were quiet, too quiet to be heard by the general public, and both were alert and ready to stop talking as soon as they were in danger of being overheard, as they were now.

"Hi, thanks for …" Elena looked up, and withdrew the pamphlet. "Oh, it's you."

Damon gave her a mock-wounded look, stealing one anyway. "I'm hurt, Elena."

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well, given that I am technically part of the _Council_, it would look a bit strange if I wasn't present for the _Council_'s memorial service, don't you think?"

"Katherine?" Elena asked.

"At the boarding house." Damon answered. "There can't really be two of you wandering around."

"We really need to come up with a cover story." Caroline commented, but Elena's attention had been diverted by the girl getting out of a car not far away.

"Is that April?"

Caroline followed her gaze, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, she grew up."

Elena pushed the rest of the Orders of Service into Damon's hands, and approached the brunette as she fumbled with her bag. "April?"

She looked up, her hair falling over one bloodshot eye. "Elena, hi. I haven't seen you since …"

"My parents' funerals." Elena finished, guessing. She didn't remember seeing April there, but then she hadn't been very mindful of anything except her aunt, her brother, and the fact that her parents were never coming back. "How are you?"

April sniffed. "Better than I probably should be."

Elena was shaking her head before the sentence was finished, drawing her into a hug. "Don't let anyone tell you how to mourn, April. Do it in your own time, in your own way."

April sniffed again, burying her face in Elena's shoulder. "I mean, Dad and I hadn't seen eye to eye in years, but he was still my dad, you know?"

"I know." Elena said soothingly, stroking her hair, hoping the rhythm would calm her as well as April. The younger girl's heart was racing with grief, the sound far too loud for Elena's liking. With a final squeeze, Elena released her with a sympathetic smile, leading her over to Caroline and Damon, who had taken over Elena's job of pamphlet-distributing.

"Oh, April …" Caroline sighed, embracing her. "I am so sorry."

"Thanks Caroline." April responded. "I heard about your dad, I'm sorry I couldn't be here."

Caroline waved her off. "Don't worry. It was a small service. Very small."

"April, this is Damon Salvatore." Elena said hastily, before April could ask any more about Caroline's father. "Damon, this is April Young, Pastor Young's daughter."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, April." Damon said smoothly, kissing her hand. "I was on the Council with your father; he was a good man."

"Thank you." April murmured. "They want me to say something … I don't know if I can …"

"You don't have to, April." Elena reassured her. "I don't think I did … Did I?"

"You tried." Caroline said kindly. "No one could understand you, but you tried."

"Queen of Tact, you are." Damon said under his breath.

"Hypocrite." Caroline shot back just as quietly.

"Darling, I've been called many things," Damon said, "a Queen is not one of them."

Elena coughed to cover up the laugh that threatened to bubble out of her mouth. "We should get inside. It's due to start."

"I need a few moments." April said shakily. "Can you go in without me?"

"Of course." Elena said, squeezing her hand. "Take all the time you need."

The three vampires stepped into the church, Damon dipping his fingers in the holy water and crossing himself as they passed. "Don't know why that always makes me smile."

Elena hid another smile, as Caroline slipped into a seat beside Tyler, and she and Damon continued down the aisle to sit with Stefan.

"Any sign of him?" Damon murmured.

Stefan shook his head, taking Elena's hand. "None."

The organ began playing, and the congregation rose to their feet, their voices joining together. It was a song Elena had known since childhood, one of Pastor Young's favourites, and she sang almost automatically, her eyes travelling over the photographs of the twelve Council members at the front of the church.

It was hard to believe they were all dead; all were people she had known all her life, and yet she hadn't known them.

Not really.

Her father had been in the Council as well, but he had never mentioned vampires except in jet.

Maybe he'd never been truly joking.

It felt strange to sit in that church, mourning their loss, when anyone of them would have killed her had they know what she now was.

"You're thinking too much." Stefan murmured, as the music came to a close. "Stop it."

Elena smiled weakly, tucking herself against his side as they sat down. "Sorry."

Carol Lockwood stepped up to the podium. "Before we begin, I'd like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory about anyone we lost in this tragic event. I know April Young planned to say a few words about her dad. April?"

There was silence in the church, and Elena glanced around.

"April, are you here?" Carol asked.

Elena stood up, pulling herself from Stefan's grip and made her way to the front. "May I say a few words, Mayor Lockwood?"

"Of course, Elena." Carol said, looking puzzled, but stepped back to give Elena the floor.

"Thank you." Elena rested her hands on the podium and looked out at the congregation, taking the opportunity to scan for April. She wasn't there. "When I spoke to April outside, she was a little nervous about speaking today. Now that I'm up here, I can sympathise. The worst part of loving someone is the day you lose them."

The smell hit her so hard that she almost staggered, but she regained her composure and took a deep breath, sure she must have been mistaken.

"Do you smell that?" Caroline whispered.

"Blood." Tyler responded.

"Nobody move." Damon warned tersely. "Don't react. It's a trap. He's here."

_Oh my God, April._ Elena swallowed hard, fighting the instinct to run and find her. Her eyes sought out Stefan, but his were tightly closed, and she realised with a jolt that he hadn't fed that morning; he'd gone straight to the church to keep an eye on Tyler.

Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but with human blood around – and a lot of it – it was going to prove a major one.

"The people we are here today to honour and remember," Elena continued, her voice shaking, "are people … were people I have known my entire life. And to know that they are no longer here …"

She could see the blood now, dripping through the mezzanine floor into the holy water, and, to her horror, she felt the veins beneath her eyes begin to heat.

_No! I've got better control than this! _

"I … I …"

She locked eyes with Damon, silently screaming for help, and he shot to his feet, making his way towards her.

"It's alright." He said softly. "I know it's been a terrible shock, for all of us." He coaxed Elena into his arms and led her back to her seat, turning her into Stefan's embrace immediately, under the watchful gaze of the more curious members of the congregation.

The priest stood up and began speaking, but none of the vampires was paying attention. Stefan clung to Elena almost desperately, his face buried in her hair, breathing in her scent over the blood.

"Why am I reacting?" Elena whispered, trying to control her own breathing. "I thought my control was better than this."

"It is." Damon said lowly. "But you're only two weeks old, Lena, and there's a lot of blood. I'm surprised the other two aren't twitching."

"Trust me, I had to fight it." Caroline said tersely from across the church, not looking at them.

The people around them began to rise for another hymn, and the vampires hastily followed suit. Elena felt the heat began to recede, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now she just had to worry about Stefan.

"Stefan?" She whispered.

"It's okay." He responded. "Just breathe through it, Elena; you'll be okay."

Elena almost laughed. "I'm fine, love. Are you?"

His grip tightened on her, and she ran a hand through his hair soothingly. "Breathe through it. You'll be okay."

"What's going on?" Matt hissed from beside them.

"It's April." Elena informed him grimly. "I'm sure of it. Even if it's not, someone's hurt and he hasn't fed today."

"Then get him out of here." Matt said, just resisting an eye-roll.

"Can't." Elena said. "Someone's watching."

"I'm gonna rip his head off." Damon said matter-of-factly.

"You can't!" Elena protested. "You'll expose us all!"

Damon shrugged. "I think that risk will be diminished somewhat after I, you know, rip his head off."

"Could we text Katherine?" Elena asked. "She could get him, right?"

"Not dragging her into this." Damon said flatly.

"Just give me a minute to think!" Elena pleaded.

"You have ten seconds." Damon warned.

"Elena, I'm losing it." Stefan warned.

Damon sighed. "Three, two, one, bye."

"Feed from me." Elena said suddenly, causing Damon to freeze, and Caroline and Tyler to glance over.

"What?" Stefan hissed.

"Feed from me." Elena repeated. "Vampire blood would work just as well, right?"

"Elena, what if I take too much?" Stefan asked.

Elena rolled her eyes. "What are you gonna do, kill me? It'll look like I'm comforting you."

"It's stronger than human blood." Damon said. "It's worth a shot."

"Elena, blood-sharing between vampires is kind of personal." Stefan warned.

"And how much more personal were you planning on us getting?" Elena asked lightly, tucking his head into the crook of her neck. "Just drink. Please."

He shuddered against her and, a second later, she felt his fangs sink into her skin. Her gasp was swallowed by the swell of the music, and Damon's hand looped under her arm, his other hand stroking her back gently.

To an onlooker, it looked as though Damon was comforting them both, but his grip was the only thing keeping Elena upright and she pressed a kiss into Stefan's hair to muffle the moan that threatened to escape her. She knew Stefan had said blood-sharing was personal, but this was something far more intimate than she had been expecting.

His fangs retracted, and he pressed a gentle kiss against the already-healing skin. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Elena loosened her grip slightly, looking from Stefan to Damon. "We have to do something. It's gotta be April; we have to help her."

"We can't, Elena." Stefan said gently. "If we move, he'll kill us and that won't help her."

"Excuse me?" Tyler's voice suddenly cut through the music, and they looked up sharply, to see him standing with the priest. "I'd like to say a few words about Pastor Young."

Elena glanced at Caroline, who seemed to be frozen in shock.

"What are you doing?" Damon hissed.

"When I was in first grade," Tyler began, as the congregation took their seats again, "I was a brat who didn't care about team sports. Didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me. But Pastor Young was the who made me understand how important it is to be part of a team." His eyes slid from Caroline to Elena. "A community. Of giving yourself up for the sake of …"

In a sudden flash of understanding, Elena knew what he was doing. She began to rise to her feet, to protest, but it was too late.

A gunshot rang around the church and a stake shot through Tyler's chest. Several people screamed, people leapt to their feet, rushing for the door, all except Caroline, Elena and Stefan, who fought their way to where Carol was kneeling at her son's side.

Caroline reached them first, breathing a sigh of relief when she realised the stake had entered a few inches below his heart. She tugged it out hastily, covering the wound with a hand.

"I'm calling an ambulance." Carol informed them.

"There's no need, Mom." Tyler pointed out.

"The whole town just saw you get shot." Carol hissed. "I'm calling them."

Tyler sighed. "Fine, but we're compelling the paramedics."

"April …" Elena murmured.

"I've got this." Caroline said. "Go and find her."

"Damon?" Elena asked, looking around.

"Gone after the hunter I should think." Stefan answered. "Will you be alright around April?"

Elena took a deep breath. "I should be. Go on and back him up."

Stefan nodded, his jaw set, and left the church at human speed. Elena followed, unable to help the smile that lit her face.

The brothers were both so important to her, and she hated seeing them at odds, so she loved it when they acted like … well, brothers.

The stairs up to the balcony were silent, but Elena took no chances. She crept up the steps, listening intently.

Only when she heard the sound of a truck driving away and Damon's loud curse did she blur the rest of the way, finding April resting motionless against the wall, a pool of blood forming beneath a stab-wound in her side.

Now Elena was used to the smell, it was like dealing with the blood bags all over again. Taking a deep breath, Elena focused on April's heart-beat – far too slow, but steady.

_She's alive. She's a human being; she's your friend. She's the girl you used to baby-sit. You don't want to hurt her._

Biting into her wrist, Elena held it to April's mouth, gently coaxing her to drink.

It took a few seconds before April responded, but then Elena felt the gentle suction against her wrist and the wound in April's side began to close.

Suddenly April's eyes snapped open and she pushed Elena's arm away. "What the …?"

"You didn't see him." Elena interrupted, looking into April's eyes and willing her to believe what she was being told. "You couldn't face everyone, so you decided to watch the service from up here. You don't know who shot Tyler Lockwood. You were crying, and then something hit you on the back of the head. I woke you up, and you asked what happened. There was nothing strange about my behaviour when you woke up."

April blinked. "What happened?"

"I was about to ask you." Elena said shakily. "Tyler … he was talking about your dad and then … Someone shot him."

"It must have been the same person who hit me!" April gasped. "Who would shoot Tyler? He isn't _that_ much of a dick."

Elena bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to laugh. "He's not that bad anymore, April. Did you see who hit you?"

"I didn't see him." April repeated. "I didn't …"

"It's alright." Elena said soothingly, helping April to her feet. "He's gone." She glanced towards the stairs as Stefan appeared, shaking his head. "He's gone."

* * *

**AN: Next time: Matt gets an unexpected visitor and Elena makes a potentially dangerous decision.**


	6. Chapter 6

Matt Donovan was no stranger to the supernatural. Even when he tried not to get involved, he always somehow ended up involved.

So he wasn't really surprised when he pulled up to his house to see a man loitering outside, only just visible in the dim light. He seemed to be looking for something, but Matt ignored that, pulling into his driveway and jumping out of his truck. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe." The man held out his hand. "Connor Jordan."

Matt shook his hand, the vervain on the hunter's glove doing nothing to his skin. "Matt Donovan."

"Do you believe in vampires, Mr Donovan?" Connor asked bluntly.

Matt laughed. "Vampires? They're children's stories, man. They don't exist."

"Oh, believe me, Mr Donovan, they do." Connor said grimly. "And they're dangerous."

"Sure they are." Matt said, amusement glinting in his eyes. "I'll make sure I eat a lot of garlic."

"I'm looking for a woman." Connor said, either missing or ignoring his sarcasm. "About nineteen, blonde hair, British accent."

_Rebekah. _Matt frowned. "Can't say I've seen anyone like that around today. You think she's a … vampire?"

"I laced the door handles of cars with vervain." Connor explained. "She reacted to it. I got off a couple of shots, but she ran."

"Well, I'll – er – I'll keep a look-out." Matt assured him.

Connor nodded, handing him a business card. "Give me a call if you see anything, yeah?"

"Sure." Matt said, giving it a cursory glance. "Have a good night." He returned to his truck, opening the trunk.

There wasn't anything in there, but he wanted to make sure he saw the hunter leave. When he had exited the truck, he had assumed that the harsh whispering noise was the wind in the trees, but now he knew that Rebekah had been shot, it was sounding more and more like heavy breathing.

As soon as Connor had rounded the end of the street, Matt closed the trunk and pulled out his cell-phone, using it to light his front yard.

Sure enough, Rebekah was curled up, unconscious, almost underneath the hedge, shielded from the view of the sidewalk.

Matt was torn. On the one hand, Rebekah had killed Elena and tried to kill him, as well as being a highly cruel and sadistic individual. But at the same time, Matt couldn't help remembering the times he'd talked to her with no supernatural elements involved.

The times she'd just been a teenage girl with an apparent crush on him.

And then he thought about the reason she'd killed Elena, trying to avenge her brother by killing Alaric, and remembered driving a stake through her brother's heart.

Even unconscious, she twitched and whimpered in pain, and he had come to a decision before he realised it.

Peering towards the end of the street one last time to make sure Connor was gone, he scooped Rebekah into his arms and carried her onto his porch.

"You're invited in, Rebekah." He muttered under his breath. "I just hope you don't have to be conscious for that."

Luckily, he was able to carry her inside with no problems, and set her on the couch, before trying to figure out what to do. Blood was seeping through her shirt, which was ripped and torn with bullet holes.

He didn't have a phone number for any of her brothers (not that he felt comfortable calling them anyway), and he didn't want to call anyone else. Elena, Stefan and Caroline would probably help her, but they'd feel guilty (in Stefan and Caroline's case) or resent him (in Elena's case, at least for a while) for doing so. Tyler had enough on his plate. Bonnie hated vampires, making an exception for her friends. Jeremy was working. And calling Damon was laughable.

Okay, so he was on his own.

No big deal, he could figure this out.

"It'd be easier if you were conscious so you could talk me through it." Matt remarked. "Although that'd probably make this even more awkward, so … maybe it's better this way."

Heading into the kitchen, he rooted through his refrigerator until he found one of the blood bags he kept in case Caroline (or Elena) dropped by.

He didn't know what his mother would think if she returned unexpectedly, but that was unlikely to happen.

He could probably pass it off as alcohol-fuelled hallucinations anyway.

Once he'd pulled one out – it was probably best to keep one on hand in case she woke up and decided he looked tasty – he found a pair of pliers and some scissors and returned to the couch.

Rebakah still wasn't awake, but the pain was beginning to show on her face.

"Okay, Rebekah," Matt said, "I'm going to cut your shirt off, alright? We need to get those bullets out, so please don't kill me for this."

Slowly but surely, he snipped away at the fabric concealing her modesty. Thankfully, it was a fairly loose shirt, so it wasn't too difficult, and he was soon able to remove it completely to reveal the damage.

There were six bullet holes, one in her shoulder and five in her stomach, and he started in her shoulder, digging the bullet out with the pliers.

"Stefan said the ones Tyler was shot with were covered in vervain." He informed the unconscious vampire. "Don't know if these are; I don't exactly have a warning system." He turned one of the bullets over in his fingers. "Although that's probably a good thing right now. I'm guessing they are, though, since you seem to be burning and the wounds still aren't healing."

Dropping the last bullet on to the coffee table, he returned to the kitchen and fetched a bowl of warm water and cloth, and set about wiping the vervain away from her skin.

As it disappeared, the wounds began to heal over painfully slowly, and he set the bowl to one side in favour of opening the blood bag and slipping it between her lips, gently squeezing some of it into her mouth.

He had to coax her into swallowing, but as the blood slid down her throat, the wounds closed fully, leaving no sign they had even been there at all.

But she still didn't wake up.

Matt wasn't worried. Tyler had only just stayed conscious when he was shot, and if _he_ was the hunter, he would have upped the vervain dose.

She wasn't _dead_ – at least, no more dead than she had been before.

As he grabbed a football jersey lying over one of the armchairs and slipped it over her head, he wondered how much of an idiot he was being, not just waking her up and throwing her out.

But right now, she wasn't the enemy.

Connor Jordan was the enemy.

_And the enemy of the enemy is my friend_.

* * *

Rebekah awoke the next morning incredibly disoriented and unnervingly alert. She remembered the pain that shot through her hand when she tried to get into her car, and the bullets rocketing into her stomach, but the pain was nowhere to be found.

She also had no idea where she was.

She knew she was lying on a couch, in a slightly tattered living room, with a mug of what looked and smelled like blood on the coffee table.

Rebekah picked it up and took a cautious sip. It was blood – and it wasn't laced with anything either. It had been heated to just the right temperature and she drank it down gratefully.

The blood cleared her head a little – not much, but enough to realise that she was no longer wearing the pale blue shirt she had worn the day before. It had been replaced by a Timberwolves football jersey, the number six emblazoned across her chest.

"Matt?"

"Morning." He greeted, leaning against the doorframe. "How do you feel?"

"Confused." Rebekah answered honestly. "How did I get here?"

"Found you in the front yard." Matt answered. "You were unconscious. I … er … I had to cut your shirt off to get the bullets out. I didn't look, I swear."

"You actually helped me?" Rebekah asked in surprise. "I tried to kill you."

"No, you tried to kill Elena." Matt corrected. "And, don't get me wrong, I hate that. But I kinda get the feeling you didn't do it to kill _Elena_. You were trying to avenge your brother. And I figure since Elena daggered you, and we all spent a good month or so trying to kill you all, and I actually _did_ kill your brother … Well, I think we're even now, right?"

Rebekah nodded wordlessly.

"Do you need some more blood?" Matt asked. "I've got another bag in the refrigerator."

"No, I'm fine, thanks." Rebekah answered. "Although I could use some …"

"Coffee?" Matt finished, handing her another mug.

Rebekah took a sip, pausing when she realised it made exactly how she liked it.

"You're a creature of habit." Matt said in explanation, sitting at the other end of the couch. "You come into the Grill every afternoon after school, and order the same thing. And you always have a Starbucks cup when you come into school, so I figured you need it in the morning as well."

"Thank you." Rebekah whispered. "Anyone else would have left me there."

Matt shrugged. "Like I said, we're even now."

"I never blamed you for Finn." Rebekah said suddenly, gazing into her coffee. "When I was younger, family was everything to me – it still is – but Finn made it clear when he came back that he was disgusted by us all. You were trying to protect your family."

"And you were trying to protect yours." Matt responded. "You thought Klaus was dead, Rebekah, it's understandable that you'd lash out. God knows what I'd have done if I'd known what happened to Vicki before …"

"Vicki?" Rebekah asked gently.

Matt swallowed hard. "My sister. She was older, but she didn't act it. She … Damon turned her, back when he was a first-class dick as opposed to a third-class one …" he smiled slightly when he surprised a giggle out of her. "She didn't take vampirism well, apparently, and tried to kill Elena and Jeremy. Stefan had to stake her."

Rebekah reached out almost tentatively, resting her hand on his, and was pleasantly surprised when he didn't pull away. "I'm sorry. What was she like?"

Matt smiled wistfully. "Crazy. Selfish. Impulsive. There were times I couldn't stand her. But she was my sister, y'know? And I loved her."

"Love's a funny thing." Rebekah couldn't help saying, almost wistfully.

"Yeah, it is." Matt agreed softly.

For a few moments, they sat in contemplative silence, not quite holding hands, but almost. For a few moments, Rebekah let herself pretend that she could ever be more than just a blip on his radar, that she was there because he wanted her to be, not because she accidentally wound up in his front yard. She had long since accepted that she wouldn't get her happily ever after.

That dream had ended when she became a vampire, and that dream ending was part of the reason she flipped the switch. She hadn't cared, either, until the twenties and Stefan.

At first, neither of them had cared. It had just been sex and blood and dancing, but she could sympathise with both Elena and Katherine – the Salvatores really did get under your skin.

If she was being honest, Rebekah didn't think she'd ever truly been in love with Stefan, but even with his humanity off, he had a way of looking at her like she was important, special – not because she was an Original or a vampire, but because she was Rebekah. For the first time in a long time, she had felt human, which was why she'd wanted to stay with him.

Of course, Nik had put an end to that, but that was probably for the best. Now they both had their humanity switches back on the 'on' position, Rebekah had to admit that she and Stefan were incompatible.

At least, that was what she told herself. After all, she and Matt were hardly compatible, but he could still make her dead heart flutter with a simple smile.

Which brought her back to the fact that she wasn't in his living room because he wanted her to be.

"I should probably go." She said reluctantly, putting the empty mug on the coffee table. "Is it alright if I give this back to you at school on Monday?" She added, gesturing to the jersey. "It's just … if you cut my shirt off …"

"No, it's fine." Matt said hastily. "Er … take care, alright?"

Rebekah managed a small smile. "Of course. Thank you again."

"Don't mention it." Matt said, waving it off.

As Rebekah reached the front door, he suddenly called her name and she paused turning to face him.

"I don't know if you're still mad at Elena for daggering you." Matt said, approaching her. "Or if you consider yourselves even now. But she didn't do it out of spite, Rebekah. I wouldn't say I know you very well, but I know that you wouldn't have let her get close enough to dagger you unless you trusted her. Elena doesn't have a manipulative bone in her body. If you thought she was your friend, that she genuinely liked you, she did."

Rebekah nodded, but didn't respond, stepping out on to the porch. She listened carefully to make sure there was no one on the street or looking out of the windows, before taking off in a blur. The last thing she wanted to do was mark Matt as an ally.

As she ran, she felt her wounds continue to heal, until the pain was a distant memory, and a smile touched her face.

He saved her.

That had to mean something.

* * *

Elena had been intending on cleaning the house, she really had. She had spent so much time at the boarding house lately that she figured she should probably go home. Aside from anything else, she was now Jeremy's sole guardian and she should really try to live up to that.

She had started by making sure there was food in the house – alright, frozen dinners, since both Gilbert children got the cooking genes from their mother – and had moved on to cleaning the house.

Everything was fine until she dug in the airing cupboard to find some fresh sheets for the now spare-again room, and found Ric's secret liquor stash.

Well, one of them.

The grief hit her like a stake to the heart, and she fell to the ground with an agonised scream. Sobs tore through her body as she curled up, as though forming a small ball would somehow shield her from the pain, and she couldn't muster up relief that Jeremy was out with Bonnie.

All she could do was cry and scream and, yes, she knew that her emotions were stronger like this, but she had never felt this kind of pain before, not even when her parents died.

That, of course, set off a fresh wave of pain and guilt, because surely her grief _should_ have been stronger then, but then she wasn't a vampire when they died, or when Jenna died (which set off two more waves, because _Jenna_ and, at the same time, Ric would at least be with Jenna, _but then he wouldn't because didn't Esther say Jenna had escaped 'The Other Side' and was in the actual afterlife_ – no, Ric was probably with Isobel, _and she died for me too, and I didn't even really know her_).

Thoughts of Isobel inevitably led to thoughts of John, which led to yet another spiral, until the thoughts and the memories and the grief were too strong and she just wanted it to _stop_.

She could almost feel herself drowning in her own tears, gasping for air she didn't need, and in the back of her mind, she found herself clamouring for the switch, because being emotionless would be hell, but it had to be better than this.

Before she could flip it, arms grasped her, pulling her against a hard body, and she clung to them, not caring who it was, just knowing that there was someone else there.

A deep voice washed over her, saying words her brain refused to translate, coaxing her through her breakdown until finally they began to make sense again.

"Deep breaths, Lena; you're alright, it's okay."

Forcing herself to listen, Elena tried to slow her breathing, focussing on that rather than the thoughts flying through her head. It happened haltingly, but the hitch in her breathing alerted him.

"That's it, good girl. Come back to me, Lena."

Slowly, Elena relaxed, and she felt a kiss brush her forehead as he pulled away. Panic shot through her, and she tightened her grip. "Damon …" His name came out as a whimper, her subconscious identifying him before she could.

"Ssh, ssh, ssh, it's alright." Damon said quietly. "I'm just calling Stefan, alright?"

Elena nodded into his chest, barely hearing him make the call. She only paid attention when Stefan arrived, reaching out with one arm, but clinging to Damon all the more tightly when he tried to leave.

"What happened?" Stefan asked, sounding worried.

"Got me, brother." Damon answered. "I was passing, and I heard her screaming. Thought she was being attached."

"Was it a witch?" Stefan questioned, prompting Elena to shake her head.

"Alright." Damon said. "Something tells me she wants us both to stay."

Elena nodded.

"Gotta be a more comfortable way of doing this." Damon remarked, scooping her up. "Have a seat, Stefan."

When he set Elena down, she was nestled between them, and she relaxed all at once.

"That's better." Stefan murmured, stroking her hair. "Care to tell us what happened now."

"It's stupid." Elena muttered, her head resting on Stefan's shoulder. "But I found Ric's liquor stash and …"

"Oh dear." Stefan sighed. "Grief?"

"A lot of it." Elena mumbled, a few more tears leaking from her eyes.

"Yeah, the first negative emotion's a doozy." Damon commented. "It gets better, Elena."

"He's right." Stefan added. "Though it pains me to admit it."

"I'm right sometimes." Damon said, as his phone rang and he answered it. "Hello? You did? He did? At least you … You did what?! Oh for God's sake, just tell Vampire Barbie and Fido, I'll tell Stefan and Elena." He hung up. "Captain Meathead's really outdone himself this time."

"What did he do?" Elena asked worriedly.

"First of all, that hunter's been covering the car doors in vervain." Damon told them. "So watch yourselves. Second of all, he took a few shots at Rebekah last night, and our football captain decided to save her."

"Good." Elena said unexpectedly.

"Elena, she killed you." Stefan reminded her quietly.

"To avenge her brother." Elena added. "I know that, Stefan. She hasn't done anything we haven't done. I killed her first, for God's sake. Can I still say that?"

Damon snorted. "If it bothers you, you shouldn't have been saying it in the first place."

"Point." Elena conceded with a nod. "The whole 'us vs. them' mentality when it comes to the Originals … it's stupid."

"Yeah, it is." Stefan agreed. "But we don't make the rules, Elena. They do."

"I know that." Elena sighed. "It's just that … I don't see how we can condemn them for protecting their family when that's exactly what we're doing."

"I do." Damon said bluntly. "So we'll agree to disagree. You okay now?"

Elena nodded, releasing him. "Yeah. Thanks, Damon."

"No problem." Damon said, lightly tugging a strand of hair. "Try not to have a breakdown on your own next time."

"I wasn't trying to have this one." Elena grumbled.

"Damon!" Stefan called, before Damon could reach the stairs. "Thanks."

Damon met his gaze, hearing the unspoken words. "No problem." He repeated, before disappearing in a blur.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked.

Elena took a shaky breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wasn't expecting it, that's all."

"I meant in general." Stefan elaborated. "You're shaken, and it's not the grief."

"He actually attacked an Original." Elena whispered. "And hurt her. If he can hurt her …"

"Any vampire will get hurt if they get shot with vervain-laced bullets." Stefan said. "That speaks to our weakness, not his strength."

"I know." Elena said. "It's just unnerving to think that not even the _Originals_ are safe." Her phone rang, and she retrieved it from her pocket to check the screen.

The number wasn't one she recognised, but she answered anyway. "Hello?"

_"Good morning, Elena."_

If Elena hadn't already been dead, her heart would have stopped. "Klaus …"

Stefan froze against her, staring at the phone in shock.

_"I think it's time you and I had a little chat, my dear."_

Elena swallowed, closing her eyes. "What do you want?"

_"A chance to talk, Elena. This afternoon, four o'clock. Alone."_

Elena took a deep breath. "Very well. I'll be there."

"Elena …" Stefan began, when Klaus had hung up.

"Enough people have died for me." Elena said softly. "I don't know if Klaus knows, or if this is about something else, but he's going to find out. I didn't turn on purpose, maybe he'll be reasonable about it."

"Elena, this is Klaus!" Stefan protested. "He doesn't know the meaning of the word! If it was Elijah, maybe, but this is Klaus we're talking about."

"No one else is going to die for me." Elena repeated firmly. "Especially not you or Damon, so please, _please_ keep him occupied this afternoon?"

Stefan sighed, pulling her into his lap and burying his face in her hair. "I love you so much, Elena."

"I love you too." Elena whispered, fisting her hands into his shirt. "Will you?"

Stefan sighed. "Alright. But I'm not breaking his neck again."

* * *

**Next time: Elena walks into the lion's den ... but what she expects and what she gets are two very different things ...**


	7. Chapter 7

At five to four that afternoon, Elena pulled into the expansive driveway of the Mikaelsons' manor house and parked near the fountain. It would probably have made more sense for Stefan to give her a ride, and he did offer, but there was something too macabre for her liking about asking him to deliver her to what was potentially her death.

Stefan and Damon had gone to see if they could find the hunter, which gave Elena an excuse to hug both of them and tell them she loved them (even if Damon thought she was just being melodramatic, because "come on, Elena, like that guy's a match for us). Stefan had hung back to kiss her deeply, whispering words of love against her lips until she reluctantly ushered him out of the door.

Katherine had not been as easily fooled as Damon. As soon as the boys were out of earshot, she cornered Elena in the living room.

_"You're going to Klaus, aren't you?"_

_"Yes." Elena said, helping herself to a glass of Damon's bourbon to ease her nerves. "It's the only way."_

_Katherine shook her head wearily. "You're an idiot."_

_"I'm not you, Katherine." Elena snapped. "I won't let Stefan die for me. I'm not letting Damon die for me." Her lips curved into a smirk she swore she hadn't known until she and Damon became friends. "But then that's exactly like you. Because you wouldn't let him die for you either."_

_"Elena …"_

_"No." Elena said, setting the glass down. "I'm going, Katherine."_

_She managed to get to the front door before Katherine caught up with her, gripping her arm with a tightness that didn't feel cruel or intentionally painful._

_"I didn't want you to make the same mistake."_

_"What?" Elena asked, bewildered._

_"The Salvatore brothers ruined me." Katherine elaborated, a sardonic smile on her face. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, but running from Klaus … Well, it doesn't help. I wanted to keep you as far away from them and Klaus as possible. I was trying to protect you."_

_Elena sighed. "I know."_

_"It wasn't just you, though." Katherine admitted. "I wanted to protect them as well. When Damon kissed me, thinking I was you … I thought …"_

_"You'd lost him." Elena finished._

_"No. Well, yes." Katherine conceded. "I thought you were going to do the same thing I did, even if it was unintentional. They deserved better, but … but you're better than me, Elena. You're better than this."_

_Elena swallowed hard. "You can't protect me from this, Katherine. All you could ever do was buy me time."_

_"But you should have had time." Katherine said softly. "Years. You should have lived."_

_"And I have." Elena responded lightly. "Maybe not as long as I'd have wanted to, but … I have lived."_

_Katherine smiled bitterly. "You're almost nothing like me, you know. But you remind me so much of my daughter. I watched her grow up from a distance, and you are so much like her. I know you don't consider us family, Elena, but I do. And I'm so proud of you."_

_Elena knew that only her impending death would cause Katherine to speak so freely and openly, and decided against making a big deal about it. Reaching out, she took Katherine's hand, squeezing it once. "Look after them."_

_For a second, they gazed at each other, the trust Elena was bestowing on the woman who had once torn the Salvatores apart almost tangible in the air._

_Then Elena pulled away and was gone._

She was at the front door now.

Taking a deep breath, Elena took a moment to compose herself and rang the doorbell.

It was answered by a woman she didn't recognise, who took her coat without a word or a smile and led her through the halls.

Elena didn't try to figure out if she was a compelled human or a hybrid. Judging by the lack of visible bite marks, she was probably the latter, but she doubted visibility meant anything to the Originals.

She was shown to an extravagant sitting room, where the coffee table adorned with a teapot, two cups, and several plates of cakes and cookies.

"Thank you, Kimberly." Rebekah's voice said from behind them. "I'll wait with her."

The woman nodded without a word, and disappeared.

"Hello Rebekah." Elena greeted, somehow keeping her voice from shaking.

"Here to see Nik?" Rebekah asked casually, helping herself to an éclair.

"Yes." Elena answered. "But since you're here," she added, "I want to apologise."

Rebekah frowned. "Apologise? Given that I nearly killed you two weeks ago, I'd have thought you'd want to stake me."

"You were trying to avenge your brother." Elena said. "And I did kill you first. That's what I wanted to apologise for. Daggering you, I mean. It was never about you. I … I didn't … I wasn't pretending to be your friend."

"I know." Rebekah said softly. "Matt said that as well. It's nice to hear it confirmed. I … I hadn't had many genuine friends. I thought you were one of them."

"I was." Elena insisted. "I am … if you still want me to be, if I …"

Rebekah tilted her head, regarding Elena curiously. "You think Nik's going to kill you. Then why are you here?"

"Because no one else is going to die for me." Elena repeated.

"Of course." Rebekah muttered, rolling her eyes. "And why do you think …?" She trailed off, listening intently. "Ah. He never mentioned that."

Elena relaxed slightly. Was it possible Klaus didn't know she was a vampire? Then why was she here?

"Good afternoon, Elena."

"And that's my cue to leave." Rebekah said cheerfully. "Stop being a fatalist, Elena. I'll see you at school."

"She's always been a strange one." Klaus remarked, kissing Elena's hand in greeting. "I do hope this wasn't too much of an inconvenience."

"Of course not." Elena said, allowing herself to be led to the couch.

"Tea?" Klaus asked. "How do you take it?"

"Er, milk and two sugars." Elena answered, a little bewildered, watching him pour two cups.

It was disconcerting really, watching him do something as mundane and domestic as make tea.

"Please help yourself to a snack." He said, handing her the cup. "And do excuse the traditions. I spent a long time in England, certain habits rub off on you."

Elena nodded silently, taking a sip of tea. She half expected it to be spiked with vervain, but there was nothing except the milk and sugar she had requested.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're here." Klaus remarked.

"I am, yes." Elena confirmed.

"Well, first of all, you can relax." Klaus said. "I have no plans to harm you. After this little chat, you will walk out of this house in the same condition you walked in."

Elena felt the tension flow out of her. He didn't know. But he would soon; there was no way she could keep it quiet for long. Surely it was better for him to find out here and now … Forcing her thoughts to stop running away from her, she focussed on the rest of his words. "And what exactly is this 'little chat' about?"

"Well, you may have noticed that we have a hunter in town." Klaus said, scowling. "He's already targeted one of my hybrids, as well as my sister."

Elena nodded, wondering whether Klaus could still count Tyler as 'his' hybrid, since the sire bond had broken. Deciding not to voice this query, she said, "Yes, we're aware."

"Clearly none of us is safe right now." Klaus continued. "Even without that, I'm sure you'll agree that being at loggerheads is hardly helping any of us."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "And what do you suggest?"

"A truce." Klaus said simply. "Between me and my family, and you and yours."

Elena set her cup down on the coffee table, her hands beginning to tremble. "What kind of truce?"

"A fairly simple one." Klaus elaborated. "No hidden traps or word games. I want to protect myself, my family and my hybrids. You, and correct me if I'm wrong, want to protect yourself, your family and Mystic Falls."

Elena nodded. "That's correct."

"So here's what I propose." Klaus said. "You and your friends will stop conspiring to kill me and my siblings, and will stop killing my hybrids. In return, I give you my word that you and your family will be safe, and the residents of Mystic Falls can continue their lives as though nothing had happened."

Elena thought about this for a few minutes. "Well, I'd need to talk to the others," she said slowly, "but that seems a reasonable truce. We were only ever trying to protect ourselves, you know. Any hybrids we've killed have been in self-defence." _More or less._

"Well, any hybrids who cause you harm certainly won't be acting under my orders." Klaus said. "So by all means, dispatch of them for me."

"And my family will be safe?" Elena asked, not bothering to include herself.

"Give me a list of your loved ones and I give you my word that nothing will happen to them." Klaus said.

"And is this truce independent of anything that's happened before?" Elena asked.

Klaus frowned slightly. "That is the point of a truce, Elena. Why?"

Elena took a deep breath. "When Rebekah tried to kill me two weeks ago, she managed it. I had vampire blood in my system when I died, so I transitioned. You can't make any more hybrids. I didn't mean to do it; it was an accident."

For a few minutes, there was a silence in the room, and Elena watched him nervously. Finally, he picked up the teapot and topped up her cup.

"Thank you for telling me." He said. "I realised as soon as I walked in, of course. The lack of a heartbeat is somewhat of a giveaway."

"It was an accident." Elena repeated weakly.

"I am aware of that, Elena." Klaus said. "You are not Katerina, you're not stupid enough to cross me."

"Or brave enough." Elena muttered.

Klaus chuckled. "You were brave enough to tell me, Elena. No, bravery is something you both have in spades. It must be the Petrova fire."

"Wait …" Elena said. "So you're not going to kill me?"

Klaus gave her a look that could almost be considered wounded. "I am trying to barter _peace_ here, Elena. Do you really think killing you is in my best interest?"

"No, I suppose not." Elena conceded. "But you've never been interested in peace before."

"On the contrary, Elena, peace is what I have been striving for." Klaus corrected. "A time when my family and I could reunite and be together in safety. I want what you want, remember? Killing you, Elena, would accomplish nothing, other than invoke the ire of the Salvatores. And, as much as I wish I could brush them off as insignificant, I believe with the right motivation, they could become a very big threat, very quickly. Killing you will not bring back your humanity, it will not create another doppelganger, and it will not increase the number of hybrids I have. If anything, this news gives me more reason for a truce. I cannot afford to lose any more hybrids."

Elena nodded wordlessly, the feeling beginning to return to her feet. She was safe. He wasn't going to kill her.

The relief that was flooding through her threatened to send her into hysteria, and she took a sip of tea, hoping it would calm her.

"So will you discuss the truce with your friends?" Klaus asked, either unaware of her inner turmoil or ignoring it.

Elena was about to agree when another thought struck her. She hesitated for a second, wondering whether she should voice it or not. "There is one other thing that might change matters." She said slowly. "And that's Katherine. She helped me through the transition and I … I owe her."

That wasn't completely true, and she wondered if Klaus could hear the lie in her voice. She didn't feel indebted to Katherine in the slightest, but the thought of Klaus killing her had mutated from one which made her feel uncomfortable to one that actually hurt her, and she wasn't sure why or how to explain that.

"Besides, Damon's forgiven her for what happened, and if you kill her, you'll still have a Salvatore on the war-path." Elena added. "The truce would go south, even if it wasn't because of me."

"Are you sure you won't have some cake, Elena?" Klaus asked, apparently ignoring her suggestion about Katherine. "I find they're the only things Rebekah will break her diet for … although why she feels the need to diet, I don't know."

From there, the discussion moved from talk of a truce, to a discussion about diet, the perks of human blood over animal blood, and, when Elena mentioned that Caroline had said that he painted, the changes in art and music over the centuries.

It was the most surreal conversation Elena had ever participated in, but not unpleasant. Finally, she glanced at the time and finished her tea. "I really should get going." She said. "Stefan's probably worried sick by now."

"Probably." Klaus agreed, rising with her. "Do you need a ride?"

"Oh, thank you, but I drove here." Elena answered, watching him write something on a piece of paper. Whatever it was, he sighed it, folded it and handed it to her.

"Kindly give that to Katerina, if and when you see her."

Elena nodded, slipping the note into her pocket. She had a feeling he knew Katherine was in town, and fully intended on warning her doppelganger of that.

Klaus walked her to the front door, kissed her hand, and thanked her for her time. Then Elena left the manor and drove away, her heart and head still racing.

If she'd been human, she would have pulled over to avoid wrapping her car around a tree and killing herself, but now that was no longer a possibility, she just wanted to get home as quickly as possible.

By the time she flew through the door of the boarding house, Elena was in tears once again.

She was getting so sick of crying, but there wasn't much else she could do, warm glorious relief coursing through her body.

She shut the front door behind her and leaned against it, sliding down to land on the floor, her whole body shaking.

A hand grasped her arm and pulled her to her feet, steering her away from the door and to what she assumed was the living room.

A second later, a glass was pressed to her lips and scotch slid down her throat, the burning sensation cutting through her tears and grounding her.

She blinked several times, Katherine coming into focus in front of her.

"Still alive then?"

Elena managed a weak smile, hearing the unspoken relief in Katherine's voice. "Yeah, still here. Klaus decided that not sending the boys on a rampage was more important that getting revenge on me for something that wasn't my fault. He wants a truce."

"A truce?" Katherine asked sceptically. "What kind of truce?"

"The kind where we don't hurt them, they don't hurt us, and everyone's happy." Elena answered dryly, taking the glass and draining it. "And then we had tea and had a nice chat."

Katherine shook her head. "And he thinks that'll work?"

"He's willing to try it." Elena said. "Although, head's up, he might know you're in town."

Katherine stiffened. "Did you tell him?"

"Not in so many words." Elena said slowly. "I just mentioned that you and Damon had patched things up and killing you was likely to provoke a Salvatore murder spree anyway. He didn't say anything, but he did tell me to give you this." She handed Katherine the note Klaus had given her.

Katherine unfolded it, and read it over three times, each time turning a lighter shade of pale.

Finally, she dropped the note on to the coffee table and stood up. "When Damon gets back, I'll be upstairs." She said flatly, leaving the room.

"Katherine?" Elena questioned, but received no response. "Katherine?"

Realising she wasn't going to get any explanation from that direction, Elena picked up the note and read it herself. She was a little concerned that there might have been some kind of compulsion, but she was fairly sure not even Klaus could compel someone through the written word. Anyway, in that case, Katherine would have reacted after reading it once, not three times.

And, reading it herself, Elena could understand why Katherine needed to reread it – there was no way she would have been expected the words written in neat, cursive script.

_Katerina,_

_As much fun as it has been, watching you run scared, five hundred years is quite enough, don't you think?_

_You are free to do as you please – do not cross me again._

_KM_

* * *

**AN: Does Klaus mean it? Will the truce work? How will Damon and Stefan react to these new developments? Good questions - I'll let you know when I've figured it out!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Shorter than I'd like, but couldn't find a place to cut it.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Damon to realise that hunting the hunter was little more than a ruse and, once he'd worked that out, it took him even less time to get the truth from Stefan.

"I can't believe you let her do this!"

"Let her?" Stefan repeated incredulously. "I'm not her _keeper_, Damon. I can't control her every move – and if you think I'm happy about all this, you're out of your mind!"

The two were racing back from the woods, Damon to stop Elena, Stefan to stop Damon, paying no attention to anyone who might notice the sudden rush of air as they passed.

Damon's heart was racing faster than he was, something he was unaccustomed to as a vampire.

As they reached the boarding house, Stefan caught sight of something and managed to snag his brother's arm, bringing them both skidding to a halt.

"Elena's car."

"What?!" Damon spat, pulling his arm from Stefan's grip.

"Elena's car." Stefan repeated, pointing to it. "Elena drove there, but her car's here."

"Maybe she hasn't left yet." Damon said hopefully, as they approached it warily.

"No, she said she was going straight away." Stefan disagreed.

"Well, it's empty." Damon said, opening the trunk, half-expecting to find Elena, grey and motionless, never to smile or laugh again. "Nothing in the trunk. Unless they drove her back here and took her inside …" His voice trailed off, realising that if Klaus had done that, there was someone _else_ in the house who may have caught his attention. Oh my God, Katherine …"

Letting the trunk fall closed, he raced into the house, Stefan right behind him, skidding to a halt in the living room, seeing Elena sitting on the couch, gazing into the fire. She jumped to her feet when they entered, relaxing as soon as she saw them.

"Honestly, boys, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"_We_ nearly gave _you_ a heart attack?" Damon repeated, crossing the room to pull her into a hug. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Damon …" Elena rolled her eyes at Stefan over his shoulder. "I'm fine."

"No compulsion, nothing?" Damon checked.

"Nothing." Elena assured him. "Klaus wants a truce."

Damon snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it!"

"Katherine's upstairs." Elena told him. "I think she's a little shaken."

"Did he come here?" Damon demanded.

Elena shook her head. "No, but he gave me a note to give to her that says he's letting her go. I don't think she believes it."

"_I_ don't believe it." Damon muttered, blurring upstairs.

As he left, Stefan stepped forwards, enveloping Elena in his arms. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine." Elena said into his shoulder, clinging to him. "I'm fine, Stefan. I'm fine."

Stefan pressed a kiss to her hair, then her forehead, before kissing her desperately, reassuring himself that she was still there. "Are you alright? I mean …"

"I know what you mean." Elena whispered, pulling him to sit on the couch. "I feel like it's not real, you know? Like this is all some surreal dream and I'm going to wake up dangling from the ceiling or something."

Stefan's arms tightened around her. "You're here. You're safe. It's alright. We need to talk about this truce though."

Elena nuzzled her face into his neck. "We're safe, Stefan. We've got time."

"Katherine?" Damon called, walking into his bedroom.

At least, it _had_ been his bedroom. Katherine had taken up residence as well, but he was still wary of referring to it as _their_ bedroom, as though the moment he gave _them_ any kind of official label, she would disappear in a blur of laughter.

She wasn't laughing now though.

In fact, when he found her, she was sitting under the sink in his bathroom, back against the wall. When he first saw her, he thought she might be crying, but in the next second, he realised that she was dry-eyed, but shivering.

"Hey." He greeted softly.

"Did Elena tell you?" Katherine asked flatly.

"She did." Damon held a hand out to her. "I'm not going to fit under there."

Taking his hand, Katherine allowed him to pull her out and to her feet, whereupon she melded herself to his body, hiding her face in his shirt.

To say that Damon was concerned would be an understatement. While it hadn't been uncommon back in 1864 for Katherine to show 'vulnerability', he was fairly certain it was part of an act, even if just because ladies at the time were expected to behave in a certain way, and she didn't want to completely freak him out.

Now, though, Katherine showed affection through overly platonic actions (such as appearing with a mug of blood or a glass of bourbon when he'd had a particularly frustrating encounter with Stefan or Bonnie) to overly sexual (such as dropping her clothes after first admitting her love for him and practically inviting him to do what he wanted with her).

This was different – this showed fear and a dependence that Katherine would usually do anything to deny.

Wrapping his arms around her, Damon pressed a kiss to her hair. "Alright?"

"He's lying." Katherine said, her voice muffled. She lifted her head, and Damon bit back a curse at the unadulterated fear in her eyes. "He's lying, Damon. He's lulling me into a false sense of security and …"

"Calm down, kitten." Damon murmured, his hands settling on her waist. "You want those plane tickets now?"

Katherine looked slightly taken aback. "You … You actually booked the flights?"

Damon smirked. "I said that I would, didn't I? The only thing you need to decide is Puerto Rico or St Lucia?"

Katherine bit her lip. "Are you sure, Damon? Klaus will …"

Damon kissed her, cutting of her protest and savouring the taste of her. "Katherine, when are you going to get it through your head? I love you."

"I love you too, but I hate the idea of dragging you into danger."

Damon snorted. "You really think you can drag me anywhere?"

Katherine couldn't help but smile, albeit somewhat sheepishly. "Not anymore."

A knock on the closed bedroom door made them both jump, although both would deny it, and Elena's voice floated through the wood. "Guys, Stefan and I are gonna take a walk, discuss the truce Klaus suggested. Coming?"

"Someone isn't quite used to supernatural hearing yet." Damon said.

"Oh, shut up." Elena retorted. "Coming or not?"

The two exchanged a look and a shrug, and Damon released Katherine in favour of taking her hand. "Why not?"

The four vampires left the house together, wandering into the woods. Elena relayed the details of the truce, and what Klaus had said about wanting peace.

"You think he means it?" Damon asked.

"He seemed genuine enough." Elena said slowly. "And Rebekah seemed to think he wasn't going to kill me – she said she'd see me at school."

"I think he's honest about the truth." Katherine offered. "It's letting me go I don't buy."

"Me neither." Elena grimaced. "I should have fed this morning."

"Large buck, five o'clock." Stefan suggested, nodding in that direction.

"You guys go ahead." Elena said. "I'll catch up."

"I'll wait for you." Katherine added, letting the boys draw ahead. "Stefan still isn't entirely comfortable around me." She continued quietly.

"Does that surprise you?" Elena asked, without any real heat. "You believe the truce then?"

"I believe that Klaus wants peace." Katherine said. "I believe he's smart enough to realise that, as young as you all are, you're good allies to have."

Elena nodded absently, watching the deer several hundred yards away. She was downwind, so he hadn't noticed her yet. She braced herself, her muscles tensing, then she was running, faster than even the wind whispering through the trees.

The rustle of the leaves on the ground caused the stag to bolt, but by then it was too late. Her fangs sank into its flesh, drinking deeply.

It stumbled slightly when she released it, but quickly regained its footing and darting off into the trees.

She turned back to Katherine, wiping the blood from her mouth. "I feel much better feeding from animals," she remarked, "but it's a much messier business."

Katherine chuckled. "See that's _why _I prefer people. Much more dignified."

"If you can call it that." Elena shot back.

At that moment, there was an explosion up ahead. It wasn't loud, not even to vampire hearing, but it wiped the identical laughter from the air, striking fear into their hearts, especially when it was followed instantly by two very familiar, agonised screams.


	9. Chapter 9

Without a second thought, the two women raced towards the sound. The scene that greeted them up ahead could be described as nothing less than carnage.

Stefan and Damon were lying sprawled on their backs, their bodies littered with wooden shrapnel, sharper than bullets, but smaller than stakes, their skin beginning to bubble and blister as the vervain went to work.

"No …" Elena fell to the ground beside Stefan, aching to touch him, to help him, but knowing she couldn't, not with bare hands. Her gaze frantically searched both brothers, breathing a sigh of relief when she realised the areas over their hearts were miraculously clear. "They're alive. Well … you know …"

"I'll call the others." Katherine said, pulling out her cell phone. Her voice was steady and firm, but Elena could see her hands trembling as she dialled the number.

She didn't get very far, however, before she dropped the phone and grasped Elena's arm, pulling her up and away from Stefan. "Watch out!"

"What …?" Elena broke off, ducking to the side as the stake just missed her.

"Mr Jordan, I presume." Katherine greeted, catching the stake as it swung again and tossing it behind her.

Elena gave the vampire hunter a once-over, noting as she did that he was armed to the teeth. She had learned how to fight vampires – Damon had taught her – but she had yet to learn how to fight vampire _hunters_.

"Learn fast, Elena." Katherine murmured, as though she could hear her thoughts. "Try not to stay still for too long."

For a second, the three stood still, in a kind of stand-off, then Connor Jordan drew a gun and began firing.

The girls moved fast, but not quite fast enough. One of the bullets caught Katherine in the stomach, slowing her for a second, long enough for three more to follow.

She cried out, crumpling to the ground a few feet away from Damon.

Elena bit back a scream – it was hardly going to help, and it would waste precious energy she couldn't afford to waste.

Clearly running _away_ wasn't going to help … Maybe towards would be better.

It was a risk, but it paid off. Rushing towards Jordan threw him off-guard, and she was able to grab the gun from his grip, throwing it fast and hard over his head.

Now, at least, it was a slightly fairer fight, though not by much, as the hunter had more tricks up his sleeve – literally.

A stake shot down into his hand and he lunged forwards. She dodged the first two strikes and blocked the third, but the fourth sunk deep into her abdomen and she cried out in pain, falling to the ground.

It too must have been steeped in vervain, because its path continued to burn, even as he wrenched it from his body and lifted it above his head to deliver a fatal blow.

In the days to come, Elena would swear that she couldn't actually remember what happened next. The stake swung down towards her heart, but she managed to grasp it, knocking him off-balance.

As he fell, the beat of his heart seemed to thunder in her ears, her body screaming for blood to make up for the excruciating wound in her stomach, and her instinct took over.

His throat yielded instantly under her bite, his blood pouring into her mouth like an offering. She could hear his heart slowing, but paid it no heed, the darkness within her urging her to continue, until he stopped moving.

Then she released him, blurring to her feet before he could fall on her.

As she looked down at him, blood smeared across her lips, she realised what she'd done.

"Oh God …" Frantically wiping her mouth, Elena stumbled backwards, turning away from the man whose life she had just drained.

Her gaze fell instead on the other three, still motionless on the ground, and she swallowed hard, forcing the bile back down her throat.

_Alright, Elena, focus on them. You can worry about the hunter later._

She faltered for a second, then hurried to Katherine's side. At least her skin wouldn't burn Elena when she touched it.

The bullets had torn holes in Katherine's shirt – none of them had struck her heart, thankfully – and Elena carefully pulled the material to one side to assess the damage.

The area around the wounds was inflamed, but looked different to the vervain burns Elena had seen in the past.

She brushed a finger against the blistering skin, pulling back with a hiss when it burned her.

It was definitely vervain, but it was affecting Katherine far less than it was Elena, which made sense given the tolerance her doppelganger had built up – but then why was Katherine still unconscious?

Elena narrowed her eyes at the wound. It looked almost familiar … but why?

She closed her eyes, willing her memory to cooperate, picturing the inflammation on Katherine's skin and transferring it on to another part of her body.

An arm.

Katherine's arm morphed in her mind's eye into Damon's, listless blue eyes gazing up at her, slurred voice apologising for everything he'd done to hurt her.

Elena's eyes flew open.

Werewolf venom.

And a lot of it, looking at the state of the injury – Damon's hadn't been that bad until he was on the verge of death.

Fingers trembling, Elena fumbled for her phone, dialling Caroline's number.

_"Hello."_

"Caroline, I need help!" Elena pleaded. "He was here, and they're not moving and …"

_"Elena, calm down." _Caroline interrupted. _"Where are you and what do you need?"_

"I'm in the woods behind the boarding house." Elena told her, trembling. "I need gloves, pliers, blood, and a hosepipe."

_"Right, I'm bringing Matt and Jeremy with me." _Caroline told her. _"Who's hurt?"_

"Stefan, Damon and Katherine." Elena relayed. "But I think the bullets were soaked in werewolf venom as well this time – Katherine doesn't look too good." A horrible thought struck her. "Oh, God, what if all the wood was soaked in werewolf venom?!"

_"We're on our way!" _Caroline assured her. _"Just sit tight!"_

"Can't do much else." Elena muttered, hanging up.

The wind was picking up now, dark clouds gathering in the skies above them. She hoped it would rain – at least it would wash the vervain away.

It would be Christmas in a few weeks.

She couldn't leave Jeremy alone. He'd already lost so much.

Pulling her shirt up, Elena examined the area where the stake had struck her. It was clean and unmarred – the blood had repaired the damage done.

A drop of water on her head caused her to look up, just as the heavens started to open. She closed her eyes, letting the rain wash the blood from her face, before turning her attention to Stefan and Damon, as the vervain was washed from their skin.

The burns remained, as they needed blood to undo the damage the vervain had already done, and until they disappeared, they were too bad to know whether the shrapnel had also been treated with werewolf venom.

She heard Caroline arrive, but didn't look away from the brothers, even as the blonde took in the scene with a quiet curse, walking over to put a hand on Elena's shoulder.

"Elena?"

"I killed him." Elena said bluntly. "He gut-staked me, and … I think I fed, I don't remember."

Caroline looked over at the hunter and approached him warily, rolling him on to his back with a foot. "Yeah … Yeah, it looks like you drained him."

"Happens to the best of us."

Caroline and Elena looked up sharply, the latter scrambling to her feet as Klaus stepped out from between the trees.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked.

"You did well to guard your conversation from human ears." Klaus told her, folding his arms. "Supernatural ears are a little harder to fool."

"So you eavesdropped." Caroline concluded.

"Did you say something about werewolf venom?" Klaus asked Elena.

Elena nodded, her gaze dropping to the floor. "The bullets in Katherine were definitely laced. I don't know about everything else."

Klaus crossed the clearing to Elena, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. "Caroline, do you have any blood bags on you?"

"No, Matt and Jeremy are driving over." Caroline answered. "They're going to drive the boys home and we can sort things out there."

"Very well." Klaus said, releasing Elena. "Well, there's no venom in you."

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. "What about …?"

Klaus didn't let her finish her sentence, kneeling between the two brothers and examining the wounds. "Difficult to tell through the vervain burns, but it doesn't look like these two have been poisoned either." He peeled one of Stefan's eyelids back, examining him closely. "No."

"What about Damon?" Elena asked.

"From the looks of it," Klaus said, "they were the victims of some kind of nail-bomb. Only with wooden shrapnel instead of metal. So they were both struck with the same wood. Did you happen to hear an explosion?"

Elena nodded. "Only a small one."

"Well, it wouldn't have needed to be very big." Klaus told her. "Big things come in small packages."

"So it's just Katherine." Elena said softly, glancing at Caroline. "What am I going to tell Damon?"

"Let me worry about that." Caroline said gently, as Matt's truck pulled up. "Go home, Elena. Take a shower. The boys will take these two home. Won't you?" She added.

"What happened?" Jeremy demanded, jumping out of the truck and gathering Elena into his arms.

She held him off, still shaking. "Don't, Jeremy; I … I have to go."

"Caroline?" Jeremy asked, rounding on her. "What happened?"

"Elena killed someone, Jeremy." Caroline said softly. "She's in shock. Can you take Damon and Stefan home, get the shrapnel out, and get them some blood?"

"Sure." Matt said, eyeing Klaus suspiciously. "What's …?"

"You'll know it when I know it." Caroline muttered, heaving Damon over her shoulder and depositing him in the truck.

Matt and Jeremy did the same with Stefan, and Caroline watched them drive away, worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

"What _are_ we going to tell Damon?" She asked softly, more to herself than to her companion.

"The same thing I'm going to tell Katerina." Klaus said, moving to kneel beside the older doppelganger. With unexpected tenderness, he lifted Katherine's head and bit into his wrist, holding the bleeding flesh to her lips.


	10. Chapter 10

Caroline watched in stunned silence as he coaxed Katherine to drink. Her injuries slowly healed, and she shifted restlessly, her canines sinking deeper into flesh for a split second, before her eyes flew open and she released him with a gasp.

"Relax." Klaus said, standing. "You're welcome."

Katherine sat up, scooting back a little. "I don't understand."

"You did get my note." Klaus stated.

"I did." Katherine eyed his hand with suspicion, but allowed him to pull her to her feet. "I didn't believe it. Even if I _did_ believe it, I wouldn't expect you to actively save my life."

"If Damon found out that I was here and let you die, any hope for a truce vanishes." Klaus pointed out.

"I was trying to keep myself alive." Katherine said softly. "Surely you can understand that."

"I can." Klaus said. "Which is why I'm letting you go. Do _not_ mistake this for weakness, Katerina – cross me again, and it will be the last thing you ever do."

"Wait, what truce?" Caroline asked, before Katherine could respond.

"Elena was offered a truce today." Katherine explained. "We don't hurt them, they don't hurt us."

"I believe it was phrased a _little_ more delicately." Klaus said dryly. "But that is the gist, yes."

"And you actually want this?" Caroline asked sceptically.

"Contrary to what you might think, Caroline, I want peace." Klaus told her. "If that means forming some kind of alliance with your merry band of misfits – no offence – so be it. I'm sure Elena will explain the finer details, so if you'll excuse me …"

"He must really like you." Katherine remarked, when he had disappeared.

"Why do you say that?" Caroline asked sharply.

"You questioned him." Katherine said. "And you didn't seem concerned about doing so." She brushed the dirt from her shirt, examining the bullet holes with a grimace. "I really need to go shopping. Thanks for dealing with the hunter."

"That wasn't me." Caroline admitted. "It was Elena."

"It was …" Katherine stared at the hunter's body for a moment. "Where is she now?"

"I sent her home." Caroline answered. "She was in shock."

"And the boys are still unconscious?" Katherine asked.

Caroline nodded. "They were a few minutes ago. Matt and Jeremy took them. You go. I'll get rid of him."

Katherine hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Caroline nodded again. "I can handle it. I'll call Tyler to give me a hand."

"Alright." Katherine agreed. "I'll get back. They should be alright with blood-bags, but given the damage, it's probably best if Matt and Jeremy aren't on their own." She faltered, fighting an internal battle with herself for a few seconds. "About what happened after you turned … it was nothing personal."

"I know." Caroline said, slightly coolly. "Don't do it again."

Katherine nodded. "I'm not sorry that I killed you."

Caroline tilted her head, thinking for a second. "Honestly, Katherine, neither am I."

* * *

Nowadays, Matt would say that he was fairly comfortable with the supernatural world.

That didn't stop him from taking cover when Damon woke up.

The fact that Damon needed blood wasn't an issue – once Jeremy had pried out all of the wooden pieces, he had poured two blood bags down the vampires throat.

But Elena and Katherine were nowhere to be seen, which set Damon's mind racing.

Currently, Matt was watching in horror as Jeremy dangled in mid-air, but the younger boy seemed completely nonplussed by the fact that he'd just been lifted by the throat, with no sign of distress aside from his harsher breathing.

"Let's try this again." Damon said darkly. "Where … are … they?"

Jeremy's eyes slid to the empty space to Damon's right. "Ric says I can't answer if you don't let me breathe soon." He gasped out. "And that he'll come back from the dead and stake you if you don't let go."

"Smooth, Gilbert." Damon muttered, rolling his eyes. "Using my dead best friend against me. Real smooth." He released Jeremy regardless, letting him drop to the floor. "Where are they?"

"If you'd let me talk when you first woke up, rather than jumping straight in with the threats and fangs," Jeremy grumbled, massaging his throat. "Elena's in the shower. And Katherine's still out there with Caroline …" He trailed off in a mumble too quiet for Matt to hear.

Clearly Damon heard though. He stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "And Klaus? You left Katherine with Klaus?!"

"What were we supposed to do?!" Jeremy demanded, not backing down. "Caroline told us to get you two back here and start getting the wood out."

Damon glanced almost unintentionally at his brother, who was still unconscious. Now that Damon had calmed slightly, Matt felt it was safe to return to his previous task of de-splintering Stefan.

"Besides," Jeremy said softly, "and I didn't want to have to tell you this, Damon, but … There's not much more Klaus can do to her."

What little colour there was in Damon's face seemed to drain away completely at Jeremy's words. "She's dead?"

"Not yet." Jeremy said, his voice carefully free of sympathy or pity or anything that could be mistaken as such. "But the bullets she was shot with were laced with werewolf venom."

No one could say that Jeremy Gilbert wasn't brave.

Giving Damon bad news – especially about people he cared for – was about as safe as jumping into a shark-infested swimming pool clutching a toaster after swallowing cyanide.

Maybe with a noose around your neck for good measure.

But Damon did not lash out, as was expected.

He shook his head jerkily. "No." He said blankly. "You're wrong."

"I'm sorry, Damon." Jeremy took a few careful steps back. "Elena recognised the inflammation around the wounds – it wasn't just vervain."

"You're wrong." Damon repeated numbly. Katherine couldn't be _dying_.

He had faced the possibility of Katherine's death several times over the last year, even convinced himself a few times that he was indifferent to it, but now it was actually imminent.

He was cast back to that horrible night in 1864, when he had woken in transition and run to the church, only to find it burning fiercely, thick smoke billowing into the night sky.

No.

She wasn't going to die.

Even if he had to find Klaus and _beg_ him to save her, Damon was not going to let her die.

Forcing himself not to lash out at Jeremy, Damon gritted his teeth and strode from the room, heading for the front door.

It opened before he could reach it, and he stopped dead, as Katherine stepped into the foyer. Her tense expression softened to something resembling relief, and she blurred into his arms.

He met her kiss desperately as something akin to a sob bubbled up into his throat, his hands gripping her tightly, anchoring her against his body as though he could somehow transfer his life into her, just as long as he didn't let go.

Apparently sensing his distress, Katherine pulled away, startled to see the sheer pain in his eyes. "Damon?"

"You're not going to die, Katherine." Damon said, his voice breaking embarrassingly. He cleared his throat and tried again, more harshly than he intended. "I am _not_ letting you die."

Confusion crossed Katherine's face for a second, before it cleared. "Oh … Damon, I'm not dying."

"I don't care if I have to sell my _soul_ to Klaus, I'm not …" Damon broke off, belatedly registering what she'd said. "What?"

"I'm not dying." Katherine repeated, her brow creasing slightly. "And I don't ever want you to sell your soul to Klaus, got it?"

"But …" Damon glanced back towards the living room. "Jeremy said …"

"Jeremy's right." Katherine said, raising her voice a little so the others could hear her. "But Klaus gave me some blood. I'm fine."

Damon stared at her, not entirely sure he hadn't imagined the words that had just left her mouth. "I … Klaus saved you?"

"Yeah." Katherine gave him a smile that seemed to wobble slightly. "Guess me meant it when he said he was letting me go." She took a deep breath. "In other news, Elena made her first kill today, Caroline's burying the body, and my stomach seems to have disappeared."

"That'll be relief." Damon said hoarsely. "I know the feeling."

If he was being honest, all of his internal organs seemed to have liquefied, but he forced himself to remain in control. Katherine was on the verge of a breakdown, and she wouldn't thank him for letting her do that in public – even semi-public. At the same time, he hadn't missed what she'd said about Elena, and his brother was still unconscious.

Thankfully, at that moment, he heard Jeremy say, "Here, this is labelled squirrel."

"If it's labelled squirrel, it is squirrel." Damon said, not taking his eyes away from Katherine's, silently willing her to hang on for just a bit longer.

He knew that human blood would help Stefan recover faster, but a fast recovery wasn't a necessity anymore, since the hunter was dead (he assumed Katherine had been talking about the hunter), and Stefan wouldn't thank them for giving him human blood.

A few seconds later, Stefan's voice floated out of the living room. "Damon? Elena? Where are they?"

"Out here, brother." Damon answered. "Get your ass up, we have a situation."

Stefan emerged into the hallway, frowning at the sight that greeted him. "Where's Elena?"

"Shower." Damon said, sparing his brother a split-second glance. "Alright?"

Stefan shrugged. "Been better. She okay?"

"She killed a man." Damon told him. "Something tells me she's been better as well. You got this?"

Stefan frowned in concern. "Yeah, I …"

"Good." Damon scooped Katherine into his arms and raced upstairs, into their room, letting the door slam shut.

She was shaking before he'd even set her down, and crying not long after that.

Damon had never seen Katherine cry before, hadn't even been sure she still could, but he reacted instinctively, leading her to the bed so she could sit down.

Immediately, she tugged him down with her, telling him without words what she needed, and he adjusted accordingly, creating a kind of shelter between his body and the bed, his weight pressing her into the mattress. If she had been anyone else, she would have been crushed, but as a vampire and as vulnerable as she was letting herself be, the contact was comforting.

"What can I do?" He murmured, almost helplessly.

"This." She whispered back brokenly. "Be here. Hold me."

Damon pressed a kiss to her hair. "I can do that."

* * *

The shower was still running when Stefan entered the bathroom, but he could hear Elena's sobs over the running water, and they tore at his heart.

"Elena?"

The water shut off, and a split-second later, she was in his arms, still soaking wet, her face buried in his chest.

Brushing a tender kiss against her forehead, Stefan grabbed a towel and steered her back into his bedroom, releasing her just enough to wrap the towel around her body.

He let her cry, knowing there was nothing he could say right now to make things any better for her, running his hands over the towel, gently drying her olive skin.

When her sobs began to subside, and he felt comfortable releasing her, Stefan found a pair of sleep-shorts Elena had left at some point, along with one of his shirts, and softly slipped them over her body. Usually, she would only fasten one or two of the buttons; now, he fastened them all, knowing that Jeremy and Matt were still waiting downstairs and that they would want to see her, and she them.

When he had finished, he tenderly tugged the hair pins from her slightly damp dark locks, letting them fall over her shoulders, and brushed them back from her face.

"You're going to be okay."

Elena sniffled in response. "I killed a man, Stefan. I shouldn't be okay."

Stefan pulled her into his arms, her head tucking under his chin. He and Elena were very similar, and he knew that she would drown in her guilt if they let her.

Unfortunately, he knew that she knew that he would do the same thing, so he wasn't sure how much weight his words would carry.

"Come on." He said softly, guiding her out of the room. "Let's go downstairs."

Caroline was there as well by now, her face lined with worry. She leapt to her feet when the two entered, hurrying over to envelop Elena in her arms.

Stefan took a step back, watching closely as Matt and Jeremy joined them. Elena tensed at their approach, but relaxed almost immediately.

He was relieved. His first kill had triggered his initial downward spiral into the life of a ripper; with no one to help him carry the burden of guilt, he had practically drowned himself in human blood to help him forget.

He still didn't know how Damon had avoided the same gory temptations – until 1912 and Sage, his brother had managed to master the bloodlust and keep control.

Actually, even after 1912, Damon had kept control; he'd just become another kind of ripper – the kind that killed because he wanted to, not because he couldn't help it.

He supposed Damon's initial grace had come from his time in the army – despite being the gentler of the two as a human, Damon had killed before, and was used to dealing with it.

They were not going to let Elena carry this alone and, by the time Caroline, Matt and Jeremy had been convinced it was alright for them to leave for the night, an idea had formed in Stefan's head, appeared so naturally that it surprised him.

He showed them to the front door, and Caroline hung back to embrace him. "I'm glad you're okay." She whispered.

"The body?" He murmured.

"Tyler and I took it further north." She answered quietly. "There's a wolf pack nearby – real wolves I mean – that should dispose of it for us. Tyler's hanging around just to make sure it isn't found to soon."

Stefan nodded, kissed her forehead, and thanked her again, before she left and he returned to Elena.

She was still in the living room, curled up at the end of one of the couches, gazing into the fire. Stefan poured two drinks and handed one to Elena. She accepted it with a weak smile, but said nothing.

"Do you want me to get Damon?" Stefan asked, crouching down in front of her.

Elena's gaze snapped from the fireplace to Stefan, a faint glimmer of panic in her eyes. "Stefan, I thought we'd got past that …"

Stefan chuckled, taking her hands in his and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "That's not what I mean, sweetheart. I just mean … Sometimes, you need the person you love. And sometimes, you need your best friend." He sighed. "You and I, Elena … We both feel guilt far too deeply. And you know that. And we both know that whatever I say right now … it's not going to help, because you know that I'd be feeling exactly the same way. Hell, I _did_ feel the same way. But Damon … He was a soldier. He dealt with this guilt as a human as well, and he handled it with far more grace than I ever did. I think he can help you, and I think you think that too."

Elena tugged her lower lip into her mouth, chewing it apprehensively. "I love you."

Stefan smiled, hearing the unspoken agreement in her words. "I love you too." He kissed her forehead and sped upstairs.

It was with slight trepidation that he knocked on Damon's door, given his brother's behaviour earlier, but the walls of the boarding house weren't overly thick, and he couldn't hear anything coming from within.

He received a low grunt that he took as an invitation, and pushed the door open. "Damon?"

There was a low sigh, and Damon got up, gently easing Katherine out of his arms. "What?"

"I can't believe I'm actually going to willingly say these words," Stefan said, "but Elena needs you."

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" Damon asked in response, but followed him anyway.

"I just think that you …"

"I get it, Stefan." Damon interrupted. "I'll talk to her."

Stefan nodded, and Damon blurred downstairs to where Elena was still curled up, nursing her drink. She didn't look up, and he approached her slowly, sitting down at the other end of the couch, watching her closely.

"Did he at least taste good?" He asked finally.

Elena downed the rest of her drink. "That's not funny." She muttered, letting the glass fall to the floor. "I killed a man, Damon."

Damon shrugged. "It's in your nature, Elena. It's instinct."

Elena turned her gaze on him, her expression hurt and almost betrayed. He almost backed down, but he knew that she needed to realise this for herself, and that riling her up was the first step. "I drained him, Damon! I could've …"

"Could have what?" Damon asked, jumping on her words. "Let him stake you? Ripped his heart out? Go ahead, Elena – I'm sure you've run over the scenario a hundred times since it happened – you tell me one thing you could have done that would have saved your life, got us all out of there _and _left him alive."

Elena held his gaze defiantly for a few seconds, before her eyes dropped with a sigh. "I can't."

"You can't." Damon repeated. "Because there isn't one. Maybe you lost control a bit. Maybe you could have been quicker or cleaner. But he'd still be dead, Elena. Or you would. And honestly, I know which one I prefer." He added, smiling slightly. "You know Stefan could have told you this."

"I know." Elena said. "He was the one who offered to get you, I didn't ask. Whatever he says … even though he means it with everything he is, and even though I know that, he still wouldn't believe it himself, if the roles were reversed." She sighed. "And I still feel crappy."

Damon sighed as well, extending an arm to her. "C'mere."

Wiping her eyes against a fresh onslaught of tears, Elena scooted along the couch and settled into his arms.

"It's okay to feel guilty, Elena." Damon said softly. "I'd be worried if you didn't. Just don't let it drown you." He felt rather than heard her begin to cry, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It's okay," he murmured. "We'll help you swim."

He held her while she cried, until her sobs subsided and she drifted off to sleep. Damon didn't move, stroking her hair absently, the way he had during the summer when her façade cracked and she broke down. When her body completely relaxed and her breathing evened out – even dead, her tells remained the same, for which he was grateful (he didn't think he could handle it if she suddenly stopped breathing, even if she didn't need the oxygen) – he loosened his hold and slid one arm under her legs so he could carry her upstairs to his brother's room.

Stefan was pacing – although heaven knew where he found the space, given his hoarding tendencies – but Damon ignored him until he had set Elena down, her head sinking into the pillow.

"Thanks." Stefan said softly.

"Don't mention it." Damon said flatly, fully prepared to make a swift exit.

"How's Katherine?"

The question pulled Damon up short just as he reached the door, and he turned to survey his brother, only to find nothing but mild concern in his expression. "She's fine. The bullets she was shot with had been treated with werewolf venom – Klaus saved her."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Guess he meant it after all."

"Guess so." Damon conceded. "You know this means she's probably sticking around."

"Yeah, I guessed that." Stefan said.

Damon waited. He would never ask, but Stefan knew that.

"It's going to take me a long time to forgive her." Stefan said finally, looking at Elena rather than his brother. "Even if I ever do. But I think she knows that. And I think she knows that I'm not comfortable around her. But this is your home, as well as mine. And however much I dislike her …"

Damon nodded. "Sounds like the situation's improved though."

Stefan gave him a questioning look.

"You'd have said you hated her a week ago." Damon said. He didn't give Stefan a chance to respond, blurring back to Katherine's side as he heard her begin to stir.

She opened her eyes, just as he dropped down on to the bed beside her, and smiled lazily up at him.

"Where'd you go?"

"To talk to Elena." Damon answered, holding himself above her on one elbow. "Stefan thought I might have a better chance of getting through to her."

"Understandable." Katherine said, stretching. "They're both terrible for guilt trips. You've got more of a relaxed air about it. She okay now?"

"Sleeping." Damon ran a finger up her arm. "Do you still want those plane tickets?"

Katherine shook her head. "Maybe as a vacation. I've never really had a home, Damon. I've always been running."

"You'll need some kind of cover story." Damon cautioned. "You and Elena, I mean."

"Mm, I'll think of something." Katherine said, her eyes fluttering closed again. Her hand found his and closed around it. "I love you."

"I love you too." Damon whispered, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. "Welcome home, angel."

* * *

**AN: Well, that's the end of Truce; I hope you enjoyed it. The sequel, Traditions, should be up within the next few weeks, in which Caroline and Tyler come to a decision, Katherine and Elena confirm a cover story, and plans have to be made after Stefan asks a very important question ...**


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